Psychology alumni have gone far and wide in their careers – some are engaged in practice within businesses, others are successful teachers.
One of our notable alumni has even helped to change perceptions about HIV globally as well as being a practicing psychiatrist.
Notable Psychology alumni
Dr Christian Jarrett (1978-)
BSc Psychology, 1996 Royal Holloway
Christian is a psychologist and author of The Rough Guide To Psychology, shortlisted for the BPS Book Award 2011.
He wrote Great Myths of the Brain, published in 2014 and his writing has appeared in The Times, The Guardian, New Scientist, BBC Focus, Psychologies and many other outlets.
Today Christian works for the British Psychological Society as editor of their award-winning and internationally renowned Research Digest blog, the site he created and launched in 2005.
He also writes a regular column on personality for BBC Future, plus a column on productivity and creativity for 99U and is an expert panelist for BBC Focus magazine.
His recent TED-ED lesson on the psychology of ownership has been viewed over 300,000 times.
Dr Rupert Whitaker (1963-)
BSc Psychology, 1984 Bedford College
Rupert is a psychiatrist, immunologist, and patient-advocate. He is one of Europe’s longest-surviving people with HIV, having contracted the disease in 1981.
Following the death of his partner Terrence Higgins from AIDS in 1982 he co-founded the Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity set up to provide direct services for people with HIV and to advocate on their behalf.
Rupert has worked in the fields of medicine and community advocacy for over 30 years.
He is founder and Chairman of the Tuke Institute, an international think-tank of international scientists, clinicians and other professionals that promotes standards in medicine and medical science. It defines medicine in terms of what people need in order to get well and promotes a biopsychosocial framework for treatment with integrated and nurse-led practice.
Rupert was an Expert Adviser to the Department of Health in 2009-10.
