Patrick McGhee was educated at the University of Glasgow and the University of Oxford. In 1992 he established the Department of Psychology at the University of Derby. He has a background in psychology, but has concentrated on the development of the practice of teaching. He was also a consultant, tutor and examiner for the Open University for ten years. He has written two books, the psychology textbook Thinking Psychologically, and a handbook for universities to improve the student experience, Academic Quality Handbook. In 2010, McGhee became Vice-Chancellor at the University of East London.