Prior to joining the School of Psychology, Aoife studied for her BSc, MSc in Physics as well as a BMus at Maynooth University.  In 2012, Aoife completed her PGCE at Queen’s and has been a Physics teacher in Ballymena.

Aoife said:  “ As a teacher, I have worked with young people as they try to navigate the stresses and joys of the teenage school experience. I became more and more intrigued with what went on outside of the normal classroom context and how that impacted on the successes and failures within the classroom. How do we support young people become confident and comfortable enough with themselves so that they can access the best academic and social outcomes within the school environment, and how do we best support teachers in their roles as more than just benefactors of knowledge? Thinking about questions like these has spurred me on to want to understand the fundamentals of human behaviour and relationships, and the impact of social contexts on the psychology and well-being of young people and teachers. I felt the best way to do this was to do further study in the area of Psychology”.  

Queen's Impact Scholarships, have been established to recognise outstanding applicants for Masters-level postgraduate taught courses with skills, ability and drive to make a positive impact on others, and who demonstrate how a Queen's postgraduate experience will help them achieve their ambitions. The scholarships have been established to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Lynn Building, home to the Graduate School at Queen's and are supported by the Queen’s Annual Fund. 

Queen's Postgraduate Impact Scholarships will award:

• A tuition fee scholarship of up to £4,000 for a Master-level postgraduate taught course (full or part-time study)
• A fully funded place on the Chartered Management Institute Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership offered by the Graduate School at Queen's University Belfast
• Funding to undertake a postgraduate-led initiative to apply leadership skills, up to £400

Aoife said about her award:

“I was delighted that my application for the Impact Scholarship was successful. The application process really gave me the chance to identify the key areas I want to focus on and to set goals for the coming year in terms of my career progression and development, so it was a helpful process to go through. The award itself, however, will afford me with so many opportunities to develop my skills with the help of the Graduate School, such as leadership and project management – skills I would never have thought about focusing on directly beforehand. I am very much looking forward to seeing what the year ahead has in store”.

In terms of next steps, Aoife told us: “Educational Psychology has always seemed like the most obvious avenue to pursue after my master’s course and appeals to me for many reasons, not least because of my interest in child development. I am also very aware that there is a whole world of other options in the field of Psychology that I just don’t know enough about yet. At the moment, I just want to learn as much as possible and explore all areas of Psychology without tying myself down to any specific outcome”. 

To learn more about our MSc Programmes click here (http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/psy/Study/PostgraduateTaught/)

And to apply for future scholarships visit:

http://www.qub.ac.uk/International/International-students/International-scholarships/taught-masters-scholarships/