Psychology Major

The Psychology Major Major Requirements: Requirements for the B.A., in addition to school requirements, begin with PS 101, followed by PS 205, 206, 307, 308, 309 and 409 over the four-year period. Students enrolling in PS 307 must have better than a 2.0 average in prior psychology courses and must have completed PS 206. In addition to providing coverage of the broad content of psychology, a total of seven different psychology courses at the 200 level or higher must be elected from two groups specified by the department. The senior essay required of all candidates for the B.A. ordinarily is done in PS 409. In addition to the general psychology major, students also have an opportunity for intensive study in one of the concentrations described below, which provide supervised fieldwork experience.

 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.  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!

 Social Psychologists- These people are usually employed in university and college settings. They usually work five days a week. They are mostly placed in group settings, whether it’s at a university or in group therapy.  Clinical Psychologists- These people are professional practitioners, who can also teach and conduct research in universities, hospitals, schools, day care centers, and community health centers. Students concentrating in this field are guaranteed many job opportunities.  Developmental Psychologists- As well as many other fields, these people work within university setting, clinics, hospitals, and public schools.  Industrial and Organizational Psychologists- These psychologists act as researchers and practitioners. They are usually employed in educational settings, private industries, government agencies, and private consulting firms.

Salaries in the psychology field depend on what job you have within the field. People with jobs in the psych field can start with up to 40,000 a year. Getting up to this much in salary for graduating psychology major also depends on previous work experience, location, type of degree, and type of workplace. Job advancement depends on the type of degree you have. If someone was to graduate with a PhD they could advance to being a clinical psychologist or have there own private practice in there home etc. If someone was to graduate with there masters, they could move up from social work to a school psychologist or some sort of counselor.

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