Sam Fardghassemi (BSc Psychology with Business and Management)

I applied to Buckingham because I was motivated to complete my undergraduate degree in two years. I found the small teaching classrooms as well as the staff-to-student ratio very beneficial for me because it meant that I could ask lots of questions and discuss the topics during lecturers and tutorials and get more out of the programme. It also meant that I could have regular one-on-one meetings and personal connections with staff. I also felt there was a lot of support to help me excel in my studies. I even remember knocking on lecturers’ office just to ask a question and they put aside what they were doing and spent a great deal of time to help me. You don’t necessarily get this elsewhere, where you can just knock and go into your lecturer’s office and they put aside what they were doing to go above and beyond to help you. This aspect of small staff-to-student ratio enabled me to both enhance my learning and develop meaningful relationships with the staff.

I also liked the fact that I was able to study a combined degree of Psychology with a minor in Business & Management because it meant that I was able to learn about psychology, business and the combination of the two as well as make friends outside of psychology to broaden both my skill-sets and network of friends.

I ended up working in business after I graduated from Buckingham in various companies from start-ups to multinationals and the fact that I took business as my minor subject was very useful for my entry to the business world as a professional. 

In 2016, I started my Master’s in Psychology at Cambridge and I’m currently doing my PhD at UCL. My PhD is looking at why young people, in particular, are vulnerable to feeling lonely in modern culture. 

Buckingham was a wonderful experience for me and led me to where I am today. I felt that it was more than just a university; staff were really encouraging, and everyone became a lot more like a family to me and that made it especial.