Dr Deborah Husbands

Photograph of Deborah Husbands's profile photo

Reader

Social Sciences

(United Kingdom) +44 20 7911 5000 ext 69029
115 New Cavendish Street
London
GB
W1W 6UW
Tuesdays 12-1pm (onsite); Wednesdays 1-2pm (online)
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About me

I am a Chartered Psychologist and Reader in Race and Sociocultural Psychology. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). Additionally, I serve as the Outreach Coordinator for the School of Social Sciences. 

I hold the position of Co-Chair of the University's Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee. I am also a founding member and Co-Chair of the University's BME Network, and I lead the Black History Year programme. 

I earned a BSc (Hons) Psychology degree at the University of Westminster in 2009, graduating with First-Class Honours. In 2012, I was awarded the Elizabeth de Lowernthal Prize for Excellence for the best portfolio submission on the PGCHE course. I completed a PhD in October 2019 in the area of Black and Minority Ethnic psychology student experiences in higher education, focusing on Black women and their constructions of identity and sense of belonging. 

Teaching

I teach and supervise projects at Undergraduate and Master's levels. In addition, I am the Course Leader for the BA in Global Challenges degree programme (starting September 2025) and Module Leader for a Level 6 module (Music and the Mind). Other modules I teach on include Social Psychology, Data Analysis, Developmental Psychology, Understanding Psychological Diversity, Self and Society, Global Approaches to Health and Wellbeing, and Health Psychology.

Research

My research focuses on the experiences of marginalised people. I use qualitative research methods such as qualitative content analysis, thematic analysis, and IPA, along with critical race theories, to understand the construction of identity in higher education, ethnicity, race, and the meaning we attach to experiences. Using a pluralistic framework, I gain richer insight into retention, satisfaction, progression and awarding for underrepresented students. 

I am the Co-Principal Investigator on a Social Research in Higher Education (SRHE) Scoping Award into impostorism in racially minoritised students. I am also the Co-Principal Investigator on a Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation (CETI) funded research project that explores the effect and experience of the impostor phenomenon on academic performance, academic satisfaction and sense of belonging in underrepresented student groups, and I have published in this area.

I work collaboratively with students and universities on diverse projects to advance equity in higher education.

Publications

For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.