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Graduate Programs Outside PsychologyYour undergraduate degree in Psychology provides you with more options for graduate school than you might imagine. There are many doctoral and masters programs outside Psychology departments that you should consider. If your interests are in applied aspects of psychology, you should consider graduate programs in related fields such as special education, school counseling, career counseling, vocational rehabilitation, criminology, and social work. The M.S.W. (Master of Social Work) degree may be especially appealing. With the M.S.W. and some years of supervised experience you can become licensed to practice psychology as a psychotherapist. Many staff members of rehabilitation clinics and hospitals and many practitioners in the areas of substance abuse have a M.S.W. degree. M.Ed. (Master of Education) programs are especially good ones to consider if you are interested in counseling in a school or university setting or if you are interested in rehabilitation or career counseling. If your interests are strictly in applied psychology and your goals are to obtain certification for a professional career as quickly as possible, Masters programs may be your best choice. If you are interested in basic science doctoral programs and you have a strong orientation toward research in certain areas, Ph.D. programs outside Psychology departments might be worth investigating. If you are interested in biological, physiological, or sensory psychology, you might consider Neuroscience programs or programs in the neurobiology areas of Biology, Zoology, Physiology, or Anatomy. Consider Pharmacology departments (often in Pharmacy Schools or Health Science Centers) if your interests are in mechanisms of drug actions; Linguistics departments if you are interested in language processing; and Sociology, Economics, or Business programs such as Management or Organizational Behavior if you have interests in the social psychology of decision making or group dynamics. Each of these will have different admission requirements (most, if not all, of which you would meet with your undergraduate psychology degree) and each would provide slightly different training. Nevertheless, the faculty interests and research undertaken in these settings are often indistinguishable from those in Psychology departments. These are only a few suggestions. You can get more and get some advice about your options for graduate school by talking to Psychology faculty members in your area of interest. Degrees and Areas of Psychology
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Updated 9 January 2006
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