Sarah Lambert – Joint Honors

Before starting the degree I’d completed other courses at Farnborough and was already familiar with the campus. As it’s quite a small institution it’s more personal and the teaching felt warm and friendly. The class sizes are smaller as well which is nice and less overwhelming.

I’m a single mum and when my kids were getting older I knew I wanted to do something that none of my previous work experience hadn’t prepared me for. I didn’t have a specific career, I did lots of different jobs. Going back to work after having children I knew I wanted more and I decided to do the degree to take a step towards a career. I qualified for help with childcare which helped me to balance the costs and free up time to study outside of my university hours.

My lecturers are so knowledgeable and passionate about their discipline, and very approachable if you’re struggling with anything.  With the Joint Honours degree the subjects complement each other well – the sociology helps to contextualise the psychology topics.

I found it really easy to engage in the lessons and the classroom discussions. We’re all very different in the class but everyone is really friendly – we have Whatsapp groups where we ask questions, share resources and support each other. I found that the mix of ages in the group improved the experience because you have such a broad range of perspectives and life experiences which helps to inform the class discussions.

I love the library, it is very well stocked. They’ve got such a good range for sociology and psychology and several copies of the course recommended books. You can also access resources online. There are loads of computers and quiet spaces for study. These are really useful when you have gaps in lessons to have somewhere to sit and work independently. It’s great that we have a Costa coffee too.

It’s a very intense course – you have to work out new ways of organising and managing your time, and to get the most out of it you need to be prepared with the reading. It is challenging but also rewarding. To do something that you didn’t think you could do is so gratifying, especially when you get good grades. It boosts your confidence as well.

After the degree I’m hoping to go on to do a Master’s and then work towards a career in social policy. The opportunity to get a degree and a masters in three years is a benefit because you get towards your career that much quicker, and having less debt is appealing too. The degree is accredited by Surrey which is a prestigious university.