Career Paths

An undergraduate degree in psychology is excellent preparation for a wide range of fields in which the ability to collect and analyze data about human behavior is vital.

About 40 percent of our majors pursue graduate study of some kind — in experimental or clinical psychology as well as other fields. More than 53 percent find employment immediately after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Valpo.

Valpo psychology professors devote a great deal of attention to advising their students, helping them plan coursework, research, internships, and application strategies with an eye toward success in the student’s chosen field.
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Graduate study in psychology is required for professional psychologists. Research or experimental psychologists — who are most often employed in higher education, government, or research organizations — generally hold Ph.D.s. Requirements for clinical and applied psychologists, who practice in a wide range of settings, vary: depending on state licensure requirements and employers, some clinical work requires study through the doctoral degree, while a master’s degree is sufficient for some practitioners.

All psychologists share a concern with understanding human thoughts, emotions, and behavior, but the field encompasses enormous diversity in terms of workplaces, daily activities, and specific focus. The American Psychological Association offers descriptions of 19 subfields of psychology as a “sampling” of the specialties available. Opportunities in both applied research and applied practice within psychology is expected to grow considerably in the coming years.

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The skills developed by an undergraduate psychology major — such as how to collect information about human behavior, analyze data, and communicate research findings clearly — are coveted by employers in almost every industry. A psychology major, especially when combined with courses in a complementary discipline, is an outstanding launching pad for many careers. Here are just a few of the fields that may attract psychology majors:

    • Medicine
    • Law
    • Human factors engineering/user experience design
    • Human resources
    • Education
    • Marketing research and analysis
    • Counseling
    • Social work
    • Sales
    • Management

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