The end of the year can be a little bittersweet, on the one hand, there is a well-deserved break and the summer ahead, on the other hand, it marks the beginning of the final year of my undergraduate degree. With that and summer in mind, the biggest question for us now is – What’s next?
Olivia
Another academic year comes to an end, and it’s finally time to relax. Let the summer begin! I’ve now returned from my year-abroad in Melbourne (just in time to escape the Aussie winter), what a year! Needless to say, it was the experience of a lifetime. Yes, sounds cliché, but there is no other way of describing it. So what’s in store next? Come September I’ll be back at King’s for my fourth and final year of BSc Psychology, woooo! I’m excited but nervous at the same time. With the end so near it’s starting to hit me that the time to enter real adult life is getting closer and closer. But as near as that end may seem, I still need to get through one final year of uni, which is easier said than done. However, the prospect of choosing all my modules for the first time is extremely exciting. And then there’s the final year research project. Sounds daunting, but it’ll finally be a chance to put into action everything I’ve learnt, and might even end up as a publishable paper!
Hope you’re all as excited as I am for what’s to come, and more importantly, I hope you all enjoy your well-deserved holidays! See you around Guys
Marta
For me, this summer is all about professional development and building a good portfolio! As a psychology student, many postgraduate programs require work experience as part of their admissions, and those that don’t still strongly consider it in your application. I will spend a large part of my summer as an interning research Psychologist at the Maudsley Simulation program. This is a super exciting opportunity for me as it is my first “formal” research opportunity outside of my course! My role will involve things like conducting a literature review, learning how to write a grant proposal, and learning more about mental health education and practice, all great things that will help me work towards a career in research! If you are an undergrad who is not considering a placement year, I highly encourage you to take part in an internship at some point of your degree, as it will help you gain valuable work experience as well as give you a better idea about real work as a psychologist, and which areas might be more or less interesting to you.
Aside from my internship, I will continue working with the Student Mental Health Research Network (SMaRteN) as a member of the student team to plan our exciting upcoming conference later this year. I’m really looking forward to this project since this conference will be one of the first of its kind and it’s been a really interesting experience, as well as a great way to get to know other students and researchers passionate about student mental health.
Lastly, I am also in the process of choosing my final year project. This brings a whole new range of challenges and considerations, do I pick a project I find ultra-interesting or do I pick one that fits in well with my portfolio? Or should I be ambitious and do a student-led project? All great questions that will have to be answered soon! If there’s one piece of advice I can give to any future final year students is don’t rush to decide, and explore all the options. Supervisors are always happy to meet for a chat about your interests, and who knows, maybe you’ll be able to find the perfect balance of interest and portfolio in a student-led project!
So that’s a little overview of my plan, I’ll be a little all over the place, but taking every opportunity to build myself as a Psychologist brick by brick. There are a million and one opportunities around the corner ready to be taken, and a million new things to learn! I hope you make the most of your summer and enjoy the occasional ray of sunshine if you’re in London, or embark in amazing adventures exploring the world. Have a great summer!
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