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As Anika Basler travelled from Germany to Reading three years ago, she was taking her first step towards fulfilling a childhood dream.

At school, she had always been fascinated by what makes others tick and knew she wanted to make a positive difference to other people’s lives.

Deciding to study at Reading

The missing factor was knowing what direction to take to achieve her ambitions. By the time she caught her flight to the UK, only one decision had been made: she was enrolled to study the BSc Psychology with Professional Placement at the University of Reading.

“Once I started investigating UK universities, Reading clearly stood out. The practicality of the course combined with the theoretical elements that they offered helped make my mind up.

"I committed to them because of their unique mix of academic studies and placements within a growing network of world-class companies.”

Personal growth in her placement year

Anika secured a game-changing placement year at Siemens, an opportunity that set the direction for her future career.

Her year spent in placement helped Anika learn more about herself and develop as a professional in a real-life working environment.

“I grew a lot during the placement year and learned an enormous amount about myself. This, combined with the insight and practical experience, is what makes a strong placement such as enormous advantage at the beginning of a career."

Career advice and support

Studying psychology at Reading can open up a huge range of career paths, even ones that most students don’t realise exist.

Every student will have their own ambitions when they arrive at university. Our support system helps students find the right placement to suit their needs and ambitions.

We offer students specialist training sessions in areas such as CV writing and interview preparation, as well as assistance from a dedicated placements officer, whose one-to-one support ensures the placement runs smoothly.

Anika has discovered a unique career path thanks to the opportunities and experiences from her placement.

“The experience I have gained will help me showcase myself in future job applications, putting me a year ahead of most graduates. Now I’m not at all worried about graduating and securing a job as I really know what I’m doing."

Discover our undergraduate psychology courses

Supporting adults with aphasia on placement

Speech and language therapy graduate Jodie Kenvin helped run the Aphasia Friendly Book Club as part of her weekly summer placement. She made connections with clients and found the experience hugely beneficial.

Gaining research skills and hands-on clinical experience

Simon Brett is a psychological wellbeing practitioner (PWP) with the Anxiety and Depression in Young People (AnDY) Research Unit at Reading. He's been part of our School from undergraduate level onwards.

Developing a clinical intervention and making a difference

On her year-long placement, Shannon Smith-Whelan had the chance to develop her own mental health intervention to help children cope with the transition from one school to another.
Athena SWAN Silver Award