Psychology is full of loads and loads of acronyms, so this is yet another one to wrap your head around \u2013 RAS stands for Research Apprenticeship Scheme, and it\u2019s an ace opportunity to actually get involved in research at the university and get some good experience (and a certificate!) along the way.<\/p>\n
What does it involve ?<\/strong><\/p>\n You work under a researcher who you apply to and spend approximately four hours a week over one semester doing a variety of tasks \u2013 For mine, this was mainly familiarising myself with the literature at first, checking up on participant flow, and helping with ethics amendments. I also got to design the posters you might see around campus with my name on \u2013 as I\u2019m still sticking with my RAS tutor to carry through the research.<\/p>\n So\u2026 you can carry on ?<\/strong><\/p>\n This is on a case to case basis, I was absolutely ecstatic about being able to follow the study through as I had already invested so much time in it \u2013 but I have to disclaim that this may not be offered to every student, and even if it is, you don\u2019t have to say yes.<\/p>\n Is it paid ?<\/strong><\/p>\n In the least stereotypical way, you\u2019re paid in experience. The RAS doesn\u2019t pay students for the tasks they do under their researcher, but these are usually easy to get your head around.<\/p>\n What if I\u2019m too busy ?<\/strong><\/p>\n If this is a consideration beforehand, keep in mind that you can discuss times and responsibilities at ANYTIME with your RAS tutor \u2013 They\u2019ll understand and know when you\u2019re busy, such as during exam season, so the work should ease off around these times. In my experience, I also had a weekly meeting with my RAS tutor in order to catch up on everything and set up what needed to be done for the week ahead, and this was only half an hour once a week.<\/p>\n If this is during the scheme, the same still applies \u2013 remember to stay in contact and don\u2019t be afraid to talk to them! The general timing for this is 4 hours a week, though this varies dependent on how you work and what needs to be done. This time also doesn\u2019t have to be in one massive chunk, so you can spread it out as much as needs be.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What do I need ? Excellent grades ? A dynamic personality ? An obnoxious amount of knowledge about the subject beforehand?<\/strong><\/p>\n The only thing you need is to be an undergraduate or postgraduate taught psychology student here ! I entered the RAS in the first semester, weeks before we even got our first grades back, so that\u2019s not a deciding factor \u2013 though previous grades might be used to inform if you can juggle this with everything else. Further to this, I was working on research regarding body image, which, although I adore the subject area, is not where I eventually want to specialise. This meant that I had my A-Level \u2018Eating Behaviour\u2019 module which helped understanding how body image can affect, and be affected by, psychopathology, and little else beyond a niche knowledge of what \u2018thinspiration\u2019 is.<\/p>\n If this is what\u2019s putting you off, I would honestly say to brush it aside. The key things to consider are if you can commit the time, and if you actually want<\/em> to be on the scheme \u2013 otherwise it may sadly become like anything else you force yourself to do when you don\u2019t want to do it (insert groaning and general hatred of even the mention of it here)<\/p>\n Want to sign up ?<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s a dedicated moodle page for it ! This should be on your front page, clearly labelled, and there will be a web link for an application form.<\/p>\n You simply fill out the online application form, including which projects you\u2019re interested in, and they\u2019ll get back to you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Illustration](\"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2020\/03\/gosia-herba-1.png\")
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