UWS Social Sciences – a new start for me

As fate would have it, I was diagnosed with Fybro-Myalgia in 2017. This forced me to stop working altogether. Not being able to work whilst having two daughters to support was a very challenging period. Facing limited choices, I made the decision to get back into education, starting with a SWAP course at South Lanarkshire College designed to provide a pathway into higher education for people who’d been out of education for a long time. At the end of that course, I had offers from Glasgow University, Caledonian University and UWS to study sociology, political science or the social sciences.

A pragmatic choice – but an ideal one

To be honest, I chose to do the BA (Hons) Social Sciences at UWS for logistical reasons as the campus was close to where I lived. I thought that this would work better with regards to being a dad and with regards to my health issues. In hindsight, this was one of the best choices I've ever made.

The first year at UWS coincided with the Covid pandemic and lockdown, so that the whole year was spent learning online. My social sciences lecturers were amazing in what was obviously a challenging situation! I had, of course, been nervous about starting university as a mature student, but both my student cohort and the staff at UWS were brilliant and made the learning experience very enjoyable. Most of my second year was also online, but we gradually returned to campus and I was finally able to properly meet the staff and students I'd only ever met online. It turned out that academic staff were just as approachable ‘on campus’ as they had been online, always keen to help when I asked for support and advice. Because I had some health and mobility issues along with the caring responsibilities for my kids, I needed this support and also, at times, some extra flexibility with regards to attending classes and submitting coursework at times. The lecturers were always happy to give me this extra room. By third year, I could not help but realise that I was consistently getting good grades – so, I started to think that maybe I could take my education journey a step further and apply for a postgraduate degree. The lecturers at UWS who I asked for advice on this were incredibly supportive and encouraging and helped me build my confidence to believe that I could achieve this goal.

Proud moments

Naturally, my fourth year at UWS was chiefly focussed on my dissertation. I knew I had to do well if I wanted to continue my studies, but I loved working on my dissertation as I had chosen a topic I felt very passionate about. Again, the staff were brilliant, my dissertation supervisor gave me fantastic guidance, and I was able to achieve a grade that I never thought possible at the start of my journey at UWS. Being able to have both my daughters with me at my graduation was one of the proudest moments of my life and I'll always cherish the time I spent at UWS.

With my first-class honour's degree, I continued to do a Masters degree in political communication at Glasgow University. And I continued to do well – UWS had really set me up well. This postgraduate degree was a very different experience. And reflecting on it, I think I would probably not have had the confidence to do this without having benefited from my time at UWS. And I could not have done it without the staff at UWS, in particular the lecturers in the social sciences programme. I won't name names, of course – they know who they are! Their friendliness, approachability and support and also their belief in me were really outstanding. I really can't speak highly enough of them and how they created just the right atmosphere and learning environment. It is no exaggeration to say I loved every minute.

For anyone considering going to university, and especially those who may have been out of education for some time or who have had some challenging personal circumstances, UWS would be a fantastic choice.

Find out more about studying Social Sciences at UWS here. 

Chris, BA (Hons) Social Sciences graduate