Interest in psychology

[Anonymous]

Anyone have insight into how different psychology programs are at different colleges?

My kid currently is interested more in psychology research rather than clinical practice. If they stick with it, I could see them wanting to go to research-focused grad school.

Would most psych programs be similar at the undergrad level at SLACs? They originally didn't want large universities but now are second guessing whether they would have a better chance at undergrad research opportunities at a larger school.

Any recommendations of programs to look into?

[Anonymous]

Super popular almost over-subscribed major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Super popular almost over-subscribed major.

Is that true? I keep hearing about shortages of mental health professionals.

[Anonymous]

With respect to identitying opportunities for research at LACs, look through course catalogs for listings specifically in research. These courses may be for partial credit and often can be repeated — with new emphases — as a student's research interests progress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super popular almost over-subscribed major.

Is that true? I keep hearing about shortages of mental health professionals.

Very popular with women. Now do they become mental health professionals? No.

[Anonymous]

Have them look up professors at different programs to see what their research interests are. Ideally they'd go to a school that has a strong graduate program. If they can work in a lab with a professor who matches their interests it will set them up well for grad school.

[Anonymous]

You could also consider neuroscience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Super popular almost over-subscribed major.

Is that true? I keep hearing about shortages of mental health professionals.

Most of the people studying psychology at undergrad level aren't doing counseling, at least at the larger schools. They're doing more theoretical/research side.

[Anonymous]

OP my DD has just started a psychology degree and she has the option of going the clinical psych route or the neuroscience route - but not at this stage, because most places start quite generally in the same starting point and the further you go, the more you can diversify.

The PP is correct its one of the most over subscribed majors currently.

I would start by looking at the dept at UCLA for instance, or Johns Hopkins and take it from there. They will show you what is on offer but what further study is available.

[Anonymous]

Look at schools who have "better" psych programs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at schools who have "better" psych programs

Psych is a slop major for athletes and women. Only slightly better than sociology in that respect. There is no "better."

[Anonymous]

A psychology under grad degree won't get you a job. That degree is good if you want to do a psychology PhD in clinical practice or research.

You can't be a mental health counselor without at least a master's degree.

[Anonymous]

What about the cognitive science major at Northwestern?

[Anonymous]

A lot of schools offer cognitive science now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A psychology under grad degree won't get you a job. That degree is good if you want to do a psychology PhD in clinical practice or research.

You can't be a mental health counselor without at least a master's degree.

My son majored in Psych and got a job right out of college at a state university in the field. He’s not counseling but has been involved in research as well as clinical testing of patients with cognitive impairment.