Subject Profile
Experimental Psychology
Why did you pick your subject?
I chose to do experimental psychology because I really wanted to get my teeth into the
scientific side to the study of the mind. I felt that psychology could often be taught in a
wishy-washy manner but that at Oxford they really tried to get to the root of the problems
they were looking at. Psychology is a fairly young subject so I was excited by the prospect of
being able to learn about and get involved with cutting edge research as well.
What is the most challenging/rewarding aspect of your course?
The most challenging aspect to the course is probably the range of material - each student
has to do an overview of most of the main areas of research in psychology before the end of
their second year before being able to specialize further. This gives you a great overview of
the whole discipline but can be tough at times. The most rewarding part of the degree is
definitely being able to engage in your own research project and perform your own
experiments. Working with some of the greatest minds in psychological research today you
can really feel like you’re doing something worthwhile.
What advice do you wish you had been told before applying?
What’s the one thing that has surprised you about your course?
I was surprised about the amount of biology, in particular towards the start of the course,
which really threw me as I hadn't studied biology A-level. I'd focused so much on learning
basic statistics in preparation for that side to the course I'd totally ignored biology and this
meant I had to do a lot of catching up in the first two terms. I wish someone has warned me
about this, but ultimately it wasn't too hard a setback.
Target Schools
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