Our Alumni

Tell us a bit about you: what’s your BSc in, what’s your background?
Hi! My name is Tenzin. My background is in Liberal Arts, which is a combination of social sciences and humanities. I studied this at the University of Warwick, and the course allowed me to choose a specialist pathway. This was in emotion and cognition, with a particular focus on the Tibet crisis.
I chose mostly psychology modules throughout my final two years and had a strong sense that I wanted to study more psychology and learn more about the discipline.

What does a typical week look like for you?
A typical week during the two main terms looks like a lot of reading for classes. We have four modules per term, each with one lecture per week. The Research Methods modules have an in-person lab as well, which is not recorded, so attendance is essentially compulsory. In total, approximately 10 contact hours as lectures are each 2 hours and our lab is 2 hours. Additionally, the MSc Psychology course offers various optional lectures and talks if you choose to attend. I went to a few of these, and they were really great!
In Term 1, I also volunteered at a local charity and spent roughly 2 hours a week volunteering alongside my studies. In Term 2, I undertook a research assistant internship, which was an opportunity I found through Queen Mary. This internship had a commitment of 7 hours a week, so I did find it a little harder to slot into my week but still managed to complete it!

What surprised you most about studying psychology at postgraduate level?
For me especially, I was surprised at how manageable the Research Methods and Statistics modules were. I was most nervous about this when starting the MSc course, but actually we are so well led into the content and have weekly worksheets to work through. This really allowed me to gain an understanding of exactly the work we were completing week by week, which enabled me to develop my knowledge as the weeks went by. The support and guidance around statistics is great, and I think this is because the tutors expect more nerves and apprehension around these topics. It is consequently well managed, and further support is available.

Other than this, I felt as though I kind of knew what I was expecting going into this course. Something that was a really pleasant surprise was the diversity in backgrounds of the other students. Not just in a nationality and ethnicity sense, but the backgrounds of previous careers and education. It shows how universal a subject like psychology is to attract and capture the attention of so many people from all over the world. I worked on group projects with people with backgrounds in law, PPE and criminology, and the diverse perspectives allow for interesting and engaging conversations and collaboration.

What’s been the most challenging part of the programme?
Content wise, I found the ‘Basics of Biopsychology’ module the most difficult to understand to then be able to effectively analyse for assignments. There is support available in terms of resources and reaching out to course leaders, which I definitely recommend for modules that you find harder.
Apart from content, I would also say it was difficult to manage workload, especially for reading. I did not find the other content too difficult to digest, but more so the sheer volume of reading that was required for some modules was the challenging part. To work through this, I think it is really important to create a clear schedule for your week where you have dedicated time to module reading. It cannot be rushed or squashed really. I think it’s important to dedicate time and effort to gain the most from the reading. I felt as though I had the endurance and motivation to complete all my reading week by week in Term 1, but in Term 2 it fell through a little. Coping with reading workload can be quite challenging, particularly when it starts to build up, so I would suggest please do it week by week!

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learnt so far?
I have always found cognitive psychology interesting, and so no doubt the most interesting thing I’ve learnt has definitely come from here. I enjoy learning about memory, and one phenomenon I find fascinating is the reminiscence bump. This refers to increased memories around the adolescent and early adulthood period. People tend to have the most memories during this period, as it is assumed that identity tends to form around here, and the most change tends to happen. However, evidence shows that those who emigrated to the United States at a later age such as 35, compared to age 20, show their reminiscence bump at that later age of 35. This shows how the reminiscence bump is not predetermined, and in fact is dependent on when large shifts in life happen.

If you could go back and give yourself some advice before starting, what would it be?
Truthfully, I would say work harder at biopsychology! Although my final grade was not half bad for biopsychology, I would have loved to have worked harder at it to prove more to myself about my capability. However, at this time I was juggling four other assignments and a dissertation, so it may not have been as feasible as I’d have liked.
Overall, I would say that this is one year of your life, and that you should make it count! This is what I did say at the beginning of my year and remembered throughout. I would also tell myself that the pain of regret is longer lasting than the pain of discipline!

As mentioned before, I would tell myself that doing reading week by week is the most effective way to ensure it all gets done with minimal stress!

What do you plan to do after graduation?
Currently I am looking for roles in research, policy, and public health. I came into the MSc solely focused on mental health, but throughout the diverse modules, I have developed more of an interest in a wider, societal level of behaviour change, public policy and public health.