Hannah Williams LLB Law with Psychology

I chose Southampton initially as it was the only Russell Group University to offer law with psychology as a qualifying law degree. When I visited the law school open day I absolutely loved the campus, the law school and the general feeling I got from Southampton, so I knew it was the place for me.

I love Southampton as a place, with the docks, shopping, the common and the nightlife. I regularly go into town in my free time. As for the student community, it is so warm and inclusive.

Last year I was president of the Jewish society and am so happy to report not one incident of anti-Semitism on campus, or at all. Everyone no matter, race, religion or age is welcome at Southampton and it’s a lovely place to be. 

The skills I’ve learnt so far during my degree, such as critical thinking, analysis, psychological knowledge and advocacy have really helped me. Southampton has shown me that I can do whatever I put my mind to.

I obtained a mini-pupillage from a barrister that I met at Southampton crown court during one of my second year careers sessions. After meeting, I emailed him and asked if he would be able to offer me some work experience.  I shadowed him in court and met with clients. I also attended court in Winchester and Portsmouth, met several barristers and got an insight into the day to day life of a criminal barrister. Whilst I don’t think criminal law is for me, I loved the litigation as it was very exciting and got me thinking that I would like to pursue a career in law in that direction. It’s amazing to think that without the university arranged court visit, it wouldn’t have happened.

I work once a week on a project that I began whilst doing work experience with a corporate psychology company in Philadelphia in the summer of 2017. I spent a week working with the company’s CEO to create a new product due to be launched soon.  We started the week with lots of brainstorming, and over the week refined our ideas into a skeleton of the product. I hadn’t even considered a career in psychology before this, but using my psychological knowledge was really fulfilling. My ultimate goal is to go into law, but I may have the opportunity to divert and go work for them over in the states for a year or so, which would be an amazing experience as well as a huge boost on my CV.

The skills I learnt during my degree, such as critical thinking, analysis, psychological knowledge and advocacy really helped me during the experience both with the project and with impressing my boss.

Southampton has shown me that I can do whatever I put my mind to, and I now think like an academic, whether I want to or not! I can also now speak in public, act professionally, advocate for myself, and I have the ability to research effectively to back-up my opinions and reasoning.

I really enjoy my psychology modules, they’re really interesting and it’s a nice breather from legal studies whilst still being academic and part of my degree. As a third year I am also really excited to start my dissertation.

Studying here is intense and a lot of work. But that is a small price to pay when earning a law degree from such a highly respected institution with amazing staff. All the hardship that goes into the degree is that makes it so valuable.