James Newman

Where are you from?

Scarborough, UK.

What undergraduate course did you study and where?

BA Business & Management - Northumbria MSc Psychology - Northumbria

Why did you decide to study a masters? Was it your passion for the subject? To fast track your career or to find a new one?

To gain society accredited qualification necessary to move to Stage 2 training as a Sport & Exercise Psychologist

Why did you choose Northumbria University, Newcastle?

This course is a pre-requasite for those wanting to become chartered as a Sport & Exercise Psychologist, I had studied my undergraduate and a postgraduate degree at Northumbria and enjoyed both so moving to study my current course here was an easy decision. Plus, Newcastle is great city in which to live, work and study.

What makes your course challenging/inspiring/different? How would you sum up the difference between undergraduate and postgraduate study?

The course is challenging in that, more than any other course, a lot of the assignments depend on your own interpretation of which approach and literature is important. There is a lot of practical work with real-life clients too, which is challenging but beneficial to putting theory into practice.

What are the different ways that you learn on your course? Is there a mix of lectures, seminars, team projects? Are there interesting guest lectures? Is your feedback constructive?

There is a good mixture of lectures, self-initiated study and discussion groups. The discussion groups are particularly useful as it puts the onus on the students to come up with the questions and the answers.

What impressed you most about our academic staff?

The preparation and resources provided by staff are really good and they make every effort to prepare you well for the assignments. They provide plenty of opportunity to input your own experiences and viewpoints and provide prompt and thorough feedback on assessed work

How accessible do you find our staff? Do you feel at ease?

They offer regular appointments and guidance meetings to keep you on track.

As a postgraduate student, what aspects of university life are important to you?

Most important things are the location (close to work and town for good transport links) and the support services which can help you set up the next step of your career after studying is finished. Furthermore, I've had great support in carrying out quite a detailed thesis.

Have you changed as a person?

I think I had a fair knowledge of Sport Psychology before and came in with some practical experience; but this course has helped me question my beliefs and practices. Most significantly, it has helped me to build a framework of how I will approach the area of Sport Psych as a whole and this will underpin my practice.

How would you describe Northumbria in three words?

Lively, Sporty, Passionate.

Do you feel your course has been a worthwhile investment in your future?

Yes it has.