Careers

This page describes various options for students with degrees in psychology.

• Course selection guidelines for various career paths
• Options for students with undergraduate degrees in Psychology
  
• Graduate Study
• Career areas for students with graduate degrees

For more information, check out Nazareth College's Office of Career Services .

Course Selection Guidelines

Although you can satisfy the requirements of the psychology major or minor by taking any course from Areas 1, 2, & 3, and (for the major) either Integrator, certain choices may make more sense than others depending on your graduate school and/or career aspirations.

The table below is intended to give general suggestions regarding course selection for students contemplating careers in education, school psychology, business, the mental health fields, or experimental psychology (for purposes of this table, the mental health fields may be understood to include clinical and counseling psychology as well as social work; a career in experimental psychology is assumed to entail earning a doctoral degree).

The choices listed in the table are only suggestions, not requirements. If your interests are not covered in the chart (indeed, even if they are), by all means discuss your particular situation with your advisor.

	Area 1 Courses	Area 2 Courses	Area 3 Courses	Integrator
Education	312,313	221,322,222	231,331,332	444
School Psychology	312,313	221,322	231,332	444
Mental Health	315	322,323	334	either*
Business	313,314	222,322	333,335,336	444
College-level teaching/research	311,312,315	221,222,322	231	442

 

The column descriptors refer to the structure of the psychology curriculum.

*Psychology 442 is strongly recommended for students intending to pursue the Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

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Options with the Undergraduate Degree

Unlike engineering, nursing, or computer science degrees, a bachelor's degree in the basic arts and sciences does not always provide preparation for a specific career. A bachelor's degree may be required for a job, but the major may not be so important. However, there are certain courses that psychology majors take that make them especially competitive in a limited job market. These courses develop skills such as an understanding of behavior, research design and evaluation, interpretation of statistics, scientific writing, computer programming, behavior modification techniques and a sensitivity concerning inter-personal relations and communications, which many prospective employers need and reward. A good understanding of human behavior is an asset in many different careers.

Participating in internships can lead to jobs within the agency in which you are working, or at least to good references regarding your ability and attitude. Research activities such as empirical independent studies can increase your desirability for research-oriented jobs. Extra-curricular activities such as community service may also be important.

Besides positions in mental hospitals and similar institutions, there are many jobs that require a knowledge of psychology, such as Community Relations Officer (working for business or government promoting good relations with community), Affirmative Action Officer, Recreational Worker, Urban Planning Officer, Advertising Copywriter (researches audience and media, writes test of advertisements), Media Buyer, Health Educator, Vocational Rehabilitation, Psychiatric Assistant, Director of Volunteer Services, Public Statistician (collects and interprets data on health and disease), Probation and Parole Officer, Newspaper Reporter (specializing in articles about psychology and/or social science), Technical Writer, Sales Representative (major publishers of psychology books often seek out undergraduates with psychology majors), Opinion Survey Researcher, Lab Assistant, and Scientific Instrument Salesperson.

There are other alternatives. One possibility is to find work at a research institute, a university or a hospital with a researcher who is funded by a national granting agency. The money available for research has decreased over recent years, but if you read the Education Section of the "Week in Review" in The New York Times, or the American Psychological Association (APA) Monitor, you will sometimes see advertisements for research assistants, etc. These jobs are not just in the New York metropolitan area.

The bottom line? The psychology major provides knowledge and develops skills that are relevant to good performance in a great many different careers. Think of the kind of work that you are most interested in devoting yourself to, and then think of how to present yourself and your strengths to prospective employers.

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Graduate Study

Graduate degrees in psychology include the M.A., M.S., Ph.D., and Psy.D. Most master's programs are of a general experimental nature and are intended to prepare the student for further graduate study toward the Ph.D. Some master's programs are specialized and intended to prepare the student to work in industry, agencies, or schools on completion. The master's degree in school psychology would be an example.

Master's counseling programs (usually not considered a psychology degree) prepare the student to become a counselor at completion. The Ph.D. in psychology is a research oriented degree and would be the most flexible in terms of job choices at completion. Research, college teaching, private practice, and industrial psychology are among the possibilities. Ph.D. degrees are usually in experimental, counseling, or clinical psychology with experimental emphases including many areas such as social, learning, physiological, perception, cognition, and developmental psychology.

APA approved counseling or clinical Ph.D. programs usually lead to being licensed as a professional psychologist after passing a national licensing examination. The Psy.D. degree is designed to prepare students to work as professional psychologists in private practice. The programs are more experiential and less research oriented. APA approved Psy.D. programs also lead to eligibility for licensure.

 

Preparing for Graduate School

 

Stop and Think

Professional standing as a psychologist requires graduate training. Graduate training involves a great deal of study, research (your own and that of the professors with whom you work), writing, probably teaching, and a number of other academic activities (e.g., attending classes, colloquia, meetings). If you have not enjoyed these aspects of your undergraduate experience, think twice before going on to graduate school in psychology.

Taking the plunge

Selecting an area of study: in graduate school, you will have to specialize in a particular area of psychology. Usually, by the time you are a senior, you will have sampled enough courses to have some idea about what interests you the most. Or, you may have discovered your future field by the research or community service that you have done these past few years.

 

Application Requirements

1. Entrance examinations for Graduate School

Graduate Record Examination (GRE): Most graduate programs require applicants to take the GRE. There are two separate tests: the GRE Aptitude Test, which is designed to measure verbal and quantitative abilities, and the GRE Advanced Psychology Test, an achievement test. The exams are administered several times a year at various college centers. Each test takes approximately 3 hours, and both the Aptitude and the Psychology tests may be taken on the same day.

Two free booklets, the current GRE Information Bulletin and A Description of the Advanced Psychology Test, are available upon request from GRE, Educational Testing Service, Box 955, Princeton, New Jersey 08540. Many graduate programs have a minimum cut-off for the combined verbal and quantitative scores. Test dates may be obtained from the Career Services Office in the Shults Center. The tests should be taken by November of your senior year.

Miller Analogies Test (MAT): Approximately 25% of the graduate programs in psychology require the MAT, a 50-minute test consisting of 100 word analogies. Many colleges administer this test on an appointment basis. Test dates may be obtained from the Placement Office. A free booklet describing the MAT can be obtained by writing to the Controlled Test Center, The Psychological Corporation, 555 Academic Court, San Antonio, Texas 78204

2. Faculty Recommendations

Graduate schools place a great deal of emphasis on recommendations from faculty. Sometimes, outstanding letters can override a poor GPA or a low GRE score. Ideally, the people writing letters for you should know you well, and know in what areas you excel. You can create a file by visiting the Career Services Office, which will supply you with blank recommendation forms.

You should provide the person writing a letter for you with a stamped envelope, addressed to the place where the recommendation is being sent, and a brief description of any of your activities which would be relevant. It's a good idea to leave a "reminder" note with this person after a few weeks pass. Often, you are asked to provide a description of your career plans, and, perhaps, why you are interested in a particular program. If you are interested in a program because there is someone there working on problems that are exciting to you, by all means say so; this focus and sense of direction can weigh heavily in your favor.

3. What to do if "rejected": or, alternative ways to get where you want to be.

The competition for doctoral programs in psychology is intense, and each year many qualified students (who would probably succeed in graduate school) are not admitted into Ph.D. programs. One alternative to consider is to obtain a "terminal" master's degree in general experimental psychology from a program that does not grant Ph.D. degrees and then apply to a doctoral program. This graduate experience will give you a chance to strengthen your credentials and demonstrate your ability to excel in graduate work.

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Career Options with the Graduate Degree

 

Experimental Psychologists

These people have traditionally confined their work to laboratory settings where conditions can be carefully identified, defined, and controlled. They study topics such as learning, perception, memory, motivation, and animal behavior. A large majority of these people are employed in university settings. However, since many of these people have training in research methods and statistical techniques (in some sense, more than the other areas described here), several of these people find employment in research settings (e.g., IBM or Bell Labs) or industrial settings (e.g., Kodak, Xerox). A tiny subfield within this area is mathematical psychology.

 

Industrial and Organizational Psychologists

These people are concerned with problems and issues relating to the behavior of people in organizations. These psychologists act as researchers and practitioners. Their concerns include developing selection and placement programs, improving individual motivation and, job and management procedures. They also promote overall organizational and communication objectives (it's more interesting than this sounds!). They are usually employed in educational settings, private industries, government agencies, and private consulting firms.

 

Personality Psychologists

They study both relatively enduring characteristics of people and temporary dispositions. Topics of study include introversion, need achievement, and fixations. These people are typically employed in universities, colleges and high schools.

 

Social Psychologists

They investigate the influence of cultural and social factors on behavior. Some areas of interest include social learning, social perception, motivation, attitude formation, mass media effects, group dynamics, aggression and leadership. These people are usually employed in university and college settings. Again, however, an interesting "new field" involves working on a degree in psychology and law - and the combination of social psychology and law would open career opportunities within the legal community, both in terms of practicing law and in consulting work (i.e., advising people in the legal field about issues that have psychological relevance).

 

Developmental Psychologists

They study the growth and psychological changes of humans and animals from the prenatal stages of development to adulthood and old age. Both observational and experimental methods are used to address questions about cognition, memory, aging, language acquisition, sex role development, socialization, and learning (to name a few topics). People within this area work in university and college settings as well as in public schools, hospitals, and clinics.

 

Clinical Psychologists

These deal in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. Besides being professional practitioners, clinicians may also teach and conduct research in various settings such as universities, hospitals, schools, day care centers and community health centers. Although the employment outlook for clinicians looks relatively good, admission into clinical doctoral programs is very competitive. A new specialty within this field is behavioral medicine, (read the American Psychological Association Monitor and note the "new" jobs opening in the area.)

 

Counseling Psychologists

These psychologists are closely related to the clinical description. Counseling psychologists, however, are more oriented toward lifespan issues such as career development, marital therapy and family counseling. These psychologists provide assessment of and counseling for personal, career, and educational problems, and they also may conduct research on normal personality and career development. Many of these people work in educational settings. Admission to graduate school is competitive!

 

Educational Psychologists

These people study the basic processes involved in human learning, particularly within the framework of education. Their research focuses on the theory and development of psychological tests, creativity, retardation, reading and maturation.

 

Gerontologists

Because gerontology is an expanding field, employment opportunities are still developing. Whether you are interested in direct services such as counseling, research, and administration, or in education and training, a significant need exists across various settings for persons with expertise in all aspects of aging, especially in light of the rapid aging of the world's population.

 

Human Factors

This area can be a good career choice for someone interested in optimizing the relationship between people and technology, for in the field of human factors the demand is greater than the supply. Specialists in this multidisciplinary area are concerned with discovering and applying information about human capabilities to the design of tools, machines, jobs, and environments for safe and effective human use.

 

Environmental Psychologists

They study the relationship between people and their "social-psychological milieu." They investigate topics like the effects of pollution and crowding on human behavior. These people also study the impact of settings such as hospitals, parks, housing developments, and work environments on behavior. This field appears to be rapidly expanding.

 

For more information on careers in psychology, write: Careers in Psychology and Career Opportunities for Psychologists, APA, 1200 Seventh St. N.W., Washington, D. C. 20036. You should also check out the web sites of the American Psychological Association and the
American Psychological Society.

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