Hey! I’m Jamie and I’m a Psychological and Behavioural Science student at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. I chose PBS due to my interest in analysis of behaviour on many different levels – for example: biological, psychological and social explanations. I’ve always been naturally inclined towards sciences and maths but I’m very passionate about contemporary issues and I feel the PBS course is the best way to combine these.
The typical week looks different for each PBS student. In first and second year you do two compulsory PBS papers and select two papers delivered by a different tripos. The diversity and flexibility of this course is what draws many students to it. In first year you are required to do PBS1 ‘Introduction to Psychology’ and PBS2 ‘Psychological Enquiry and Methods’ alongside two optional papers.
For PBS1, there are 2 lectures a week and you roughly have a supervision every fortnight during term time. The supervision requires you to answer an essay question based on the lectures and, in the supervision, you discuss the topic. In PBS2, there are 2 lectures per week, alongside a weekly supervision and 3-4 practical classes a term. For the supervisions, you may be set a number of different tasks: a short essay, short answer questions, suggested reading or problem sheets for the statistical content. Practical classes cover topics from brain anatomy, data analysis and coding – all furthering your understanding of psychological research practices.
Aside from the PBS papers, you are able to select, from a list, related papers from other departments. If you choose more natural science papers, you tend to have a larger proportion of contact hours and practical classes. Alternatively, you can choose papers from the HSPS department on politics, sociology or social anthropology, or from the Philosophy Department. If you select more humanities-based subjects, you tend to have fewer contact hours, around 2 lectures a week per paper, and tend to have 3 essay supervisions per term.
I applied to Cambridge from a state-school and working-class background. Because of this, the whole admissions process was very unfamiliar. I gained the majority of my admissions tips from outreach programmes delivered by different universities and charities. Sutton Trust Summer Schools are a great opportunity, as are individual residentials offered by Oxbridge Colleges. The main thing I learnt on these programmes were interview and personal statement tips.
For interviews, I was advised to simply practise engaging in academic debates to increase my confidence in talking about my subject. My top piece of advice for interviews is to think out loud – in my interviews I simply said exactly what came to mind first and expressed my subsequent thinking. It’s better to say what comes to mind first, even if you think it is something very basic, so that the interviewers can guide your thoughts and assess your thought process – they are rarely concerned by getting the ‘right’ answer immediately. Also, for psychology, I would suggest building skills in evaluating study design and interpreting graphs/data and drawing valid conclusions from them.
When writing my personal statement, I watched advice videos on YouTube and attended workshops which conveyed to me the importance of emphasising academic interest. I didn’t do much reading for my personal statement and instead highlighted other ‘super-curricular activities’. For example, I have a great interest in Personality Psychology, so I mentioned how this led me to do a free online course delivered by future-learn and described how this changed my perception of behaviour and the field. I don’t suggest reading something because you think it ‘looks good’, instead engage with something that interests you!
Another thing about PBS that makes studying it so enjoyable is how understanding and keen the department are. The course is relatively new and responsive, always looking to improve student satisfaction and success.
Overall, if you’re interested in behaviour and you are dedicated to this, PBS is an extremely rewarding course to do. To anyone thinking of applying, please do not let comparing yourself to others stop you from being confident and pursuing what you are interested in. I wish I had realised that there is no ‘typical Cambridge student’ – to be a student at Cambridge requires interest, engagement and resilience.