The University of Padova was highly recommended to me by a friend/mentor of mine who is a practising psychotherapist in Athens. I was looking for the best online bachelor's degree in psychology, and he specifically recommended the TEMPS course. In my own research into online psychology bachelor's degrees, TEMPS was the one from the most prestigious university, affordable (with several generous scholarships available), and the contents of the degree most aligned with my interests.
I would recommend TEMPS to prospective students because I am very satisfied with my own experience. I have found that the TEMPS programme provides students access to a world-class education from a prestigious university, allows us the flexibility to fit our studies around our work and other obligations, and affords us the opportunity to explore a great range of topics within the science of Psychology, as well as the freedom to choose which subject and research area we would like to pursue academically through the internship and thesis.
Additionally, the mixed modality of the programme facilitates the development of some key transferable skills, such as self-discipline, time-management, initiative, flexibility, and remote networking.

The main feature of the TEMPS programme is the mixed online and in-presence modality, where the in-presence obligations are simply attending the final examinations of each course in at least one of five total exam sessions per year.
Courses are structured in a way that allows students who wish to engage with the material intensively to do so, while allowing students who are not able to attend the weekly meetings or follow the course on a weekly basis to independently study the material and give the full final exam at the end of the semester. The former can choose to participate in the interim examinations, group/individual assignments during the semester and give a reduced final exam, while the latter may choose to forgo the interim evaluations and simply give the full final in-presence exam.
The TEMPS programme also requires students to complete an internship (clinical or research) as well as a thesis. While I have not yet started working on my thesis, and have only just started on my internship, I find these opportunities invaluable in allowing me to deepen my theoretical knowledge and further explore my areas of interest, while gaining experience in conducting research.

The course that most stood out to me so far was Clinical Psychodynamic Models. Professor Boldrini delivered the weekly zooms with a contagious passion, and this encouraged me to really apply myself to the material, which was in itself very interesting.
Although the psychodynamic approach to psychotherapy is maligned among some clinicians and researchers - who claim that it lacks the robust evidence base of cognitive-behavioral therapy - I found this approach resonated more with my curiosity and desire to deeply investigate and understand the dynamics that create, maintain and exacerbate various psychopathologies. I also enjoyed tracing the historical background of psychotherapy and the various models and schools of thought that have emerged since the beginning of the twentieth century.
I particularly appreciated the inclusion of this course in the programme as it is not a subject that is usually offered in psychology bachelor’s degrees.

I very much enjoy the blended modality of TEMPS because it allows me to fit my studies around my work obligations as well as my lifestyle outside of work. It allows me to study and work through the course materials at my own pace and in my own time and place, while allowing me to live in the place of my choosing and only having to be in Padova for the final examinations.
I have the option to engage with the courses and their materials as much as I wish: from simply attending the final examination at the end of the semester to attending every live weekly zoom meeting, following the weekly progression of study, engaging with my professors and peers and delivering all of the interim assignments and examinations so that I can give a reduced exam at the end of the semester.

I am currently working as a general contractor for a real estate renovation project in the mornings, while in the evenings I work an office job doing accounting and digital marketing for a small business in the clothing retail sector. When I am not working or studying, I enjoy training (lifting weights, cycling) and exploring Athens with friends. I also enjoy reading a range of non-fiction books, though my main interests are in psychology and philosophy.