The transition from undergraduate to postgraduate

Whilst the transition from an undergraduate to a postgraduate degree is not as intense and overwhelming as it may have been transitioning from school to university, I still believe this is an important stage in a trainee’s career. Hopefully this post will provide valuable insight for those who are considering sport psychology as their career path. As a disclaimer, these ideas are purely based on my own experiences, and those from other universities and courses may be different!

I conducted my BSc at the University of Exeter and my MSc at the University of the West of England (UWE).

Life as an undergraduate

As an undergraduate, you are certainly required to be more independent than you were at school, both in terms of living away from home as well as within your studies. This means not relying on just the lecture content to write your assessments, and delving into the literature, possibly for the first time, to further understand your subject. In terms of the lectures themselves, it tends to be with the whole cohort (in my case around 200 students) in large lecture theatres, with the lecturer delivering large amounts of content in 1- or 2-hour slots. Due to the nature of most courses being accredited by the BPS, undergraduate courses tend to have a focus on understanding the basic psychological concepts, such as those in cognitive, biological, and social psychology, alongside ensuring you have an understanding in research methods and statistics. There was, however, still sport and exercise, and sport psychology modules, but these tended to focus on the basic principles and psychological skills (e.g., imagery, focus of attention, goal setting etc.). In my experience, this content would be assessed via essays, scientific reports, or exams, often with the topics and questions provided for you, with maybe the odd group work or case study in your final year. Of course, this will depend on your university and your course, but at this level, the assessments tend to be more standard and less adventurous. In my third year, I also completed a 5000-word dissertation, which I believe is at the lower-end of the word count usually used for undergraduate dissertations.

In sum, as an undergraduate, whilst you do gain some independence, especially compared to school, there is still more of a teacher-student aspect, with lecturers giving lessons and then you learn the content, sometimes engaging in further reading to aid with your assignments.

Life as a postgraduate

As a postgraduate, the level of independence increases further, both in terms of having to do your own research and further reading, as well as with the topics you choose to write your assignments on. Furthermore, the information provided in lectures is expected to purely give you a basic understanding, with less content provided, meaning it is necessary for you to delve into the literature more to fully understand the topics. In my course, we were given literature that was both compulsory and optional, along with additional tasks to further aid our understanding. Again, this would be down to you to decide on the optional papers and tasks that you want to read and undertake (i.e., more independence). This often means that contact time is reduced, as there is more focus on your independent research and understanding. However, the content is far more sport psychology focused (as would be expected), and also covers a wide variety of topics, such as contemporary issues, professional practice, and exercise psychology, alongside the more well-known psychological skills. We covered content that I had never associated with a sport psychologist before, such as doping, athlete career transitions and reflective practice! Having smaller class sizes and a more varied course content also allows for more practical opportunities and assessment styles. For example, during my MSc, we had opportunities to conduct workshops in groups to local teams of varying sports, ages, and abilities. Furthermore, some of the contact hours were more focused on discussions and application, rather than just watching a PowerPoint presentation, which certainly aids you in understanding how you can use the content in the “real world.” We also had role play assessments, presentations, an assessed workshop, and reflection exercises; none of which I had completed previously. Finally, I completed an 8000-word dissertation, to be completed over the 1-year course.

In sum, as a postgraduate, there is more scope to further your reading and choose topics for your assignments that interest you the most. Alongside this, there is more opportunity to put what you have learnt into practice, and further understand the career of a sport and exercise psychologist.

So, what are the main differences to be aware of when transitioning between an undergraduate and a postgraduate degree?

1. Smaller groups and class sizes in the MSc, which gives you more chance for discussion of topics.

2. More varied assessment types in the MSc, giving you an opportunity to demonstrate different skills.

3. More opportunities to put the theory into practice in the MSc.

4. The amount of lecture content reduces between the undergraduate and postgraduate courses, giving you more opportunities for independent research.

5. The research project also increases in size and scope between an undergraduate and postgraduate degree.

6. The amount of sport psychology content also increases between the courses, as the undergraduate course gives a more basic general psychology level.

7. You also receive a lot more information on the career of a sport psychologist, and how to progress your career further in the postgraduate course. This comes in the form of both information sessions, as well as topics in lectures such as ethics, philosophy, and counselling skills.

The best ways to deal with the transition

Here are a few of my best tips of dealing with the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate.

1. Make sure a career in sport psychology is what you want to do!

One of the first sessions we had on our MSc was a session with either stage 2 trainees or qualified sport and exercise psychologists talking about their experiences. Whilst this was highly insightful, hearing about how difficult it could be to make your way into the world of sport psychology, for me personally, was highly daunting. Combining this session with conducting role plays and motivational interviewing definitely made me realise how out of my comfort zone all of this would be! However, I knew that I wanted to help athletes and be involved in the world of sport. Despite the initial lectures being a shock to the system, I made sure that being a sport psychologist was the career I wanted to pursue, and over the course of the year, realised that it didn't seem as scary as it had at the start, and that you will gain so much confidence over the course of the year.

2. Be prepared for lots of independent work.

Whilst an undergraduate degree will definitely prepare you for this, understanding that you may be required to do more in the MSc will stand you in good stead.

3. Be prepared to take any opportunities you can.

Due to the nature of psychology and the necessity to have the correct qualifications, it can be difficult to get work experience in the traditional sense. Therefore, if your university offers any chances to work with athletes in a secure environment, for example conducting group workshops, take them! The more experiences you can get the better, as then you will be more knowledgeable in different situations and the more confident you will be when you have to do it later in your career.

4. Be confident!

Allow yourself to step out of your comfort zone, talk to and work with as many people as you can, and take part in discussions. You can learn so much from other people, especially when you’re all sharing ideas and have come from different backgrounds and experiences.

I hope this post can be helpful to anyone considering taking a Masters degree in sport psychology!

Thank you for reading :)