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Psychology

Life After Graduation

Careers in Psychology

Types of careers
  • FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY A complete listing of psychology fields and specific information regarding these fields.
  • JOB DESCRIPTIONS Dr. Drew Appleby from IUPUI has collected a list of links to occupations of interest to psychology majors from the U.S. Department of Labor . These descriptions identify the skills people in these occupations must possess to perform their jobs successfully.
  • O*NET: The O*NET system is a national source of occupational information, providing comprehensive information on key attributes and characteristics of workers and occupations - you will need to search it by keywords or terms.
  • Social Work certification in Wisconsin: The WI Department of Safety and Professional Services is responsible for licensing of all different types of therapists. There are many opportunities for jobs in human services/social services that do not require the job applicant to be social work certified.  However, for the jobs that require social worker certification a student needs to be certified by the state.  Most students who get certified by the state have an undergraduate degree in social work (BSW) OR a MSW (Master's in Social Work).  UWL majors are eligible for certification BUT will need additional specific coursework as indicated at the site and this coursework needs to be completed at a school where it is taught by social workers.  Specific course work earned at UWL will not count toward the certification application despite the fact that the descriptions may read as highly aligned with UWL course content.
  • Addiction Counseling: Addiction-Counselor.org is an educational resource designed for those individuals looking to begin or advance a career in the substance abuse counseling field. From our state-by-state guides to licensure and education, salary guides and degree information, we help you understand what it takes to earn the licensure you need for the career you want.
  • INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES - Access Going Global through the Additional Resources menu in Handshake - it includes country career guides, employer directories and international job and internships listings.
Salary information
Job searching information
  • A sample of career searching sites (some may involve fees or subscriptions but you will be warned before you spend any money). Career Services provides information on several options for online searching including sites specifically associated with more psychology-related jobs.
  • LearnPsychology.org: Learn Psychology is focused on providing college students with information and resources on how to land and be successful in a psychology career. We've just updated our open-access guide to non-psychology careers for psychology majors. A psychology education opens a number of unique career opportunities, so we created this guidebook to help graduates better understand how to use their skills and degrees to land jobs in an array of industries.
  • PsychologyDegree411 Jobs Board(http://www.psychologydegree411.com/jobs/) is a free jobs board updated daily with psychology related positions that can be searched by keywords, degree type, and/or by state. Users can also search for internships. 
  • The College Student's Guide to Pre-Professional Psychology Opportunities: Classroom-based learning can only take a student so far, and eventually, psychology students need to seek out real-world training to make themselves more marketable to employers. Learn Psychology created this guidebook to help students find the best internships, work-study programs, and other pre-professional psychology experiences available. Some key elements of the guide are (1)  an exhaustive list of available pre-professional options
, (2) pros and cons for each of the opportunities listed
, and (3) tips for moving into a professional or academic career.
  • Forensic Psychology Online: Contains a wealth of information, including steps on how to become a forensic psychologist, career guides, state-by-state licensing information, educational opportunities, and much more.
  • The Ultimate Guide to Careers in Social Work: Includes interviews with social workers and clinical social workers and a directory of accredited online Masters in Social Work programs.

Human services job searching - additional information

  • Many employers in this area advertise in their local newspapers as they do not have large advertising budgets. Consequently, check to see if the job site you've chosen crawls newspapers for jobs and/or visit the classified ads of the paper in a town in which you'd like to work. 
  • The National Assembly of Health and Human Services Organizations(www.nassembly.org) has a link to jobs and internships across the nation.
  • The local United Way website for the geographical area for which you are interested will provide a list of agencies they support.
Useful links regarding careers in psychology

Several good sites from other universities

  • Scott Plous' site at Wesleyan is devoted to general psychology and social psychology-including links to graduate programs. It is one of the best sites for psychology undergraduates. http://www.socialpsychology.org/
  • Linda Walsh's site at the University of Northern Iowa: http://www.uni.edu/walsh/linda1.html
  • Psych Web by Russ Dewey: http://www.psychwww.com/

Psychology-related professional organizations

  • APA The American Psychological Association is a good resource that will also include information about joining as a student affiliate.
  • APA's Psychology as a Career
  • APS The Association of Psychological Science is more research oriented than APA. APS has excellent student resources too.
  • PSI CHI This is the international site for Psi Chi, an honors association for psychology undergraduates and graduate students. There is information about the organization as well as student grant opportunities.
  • MPA The Midwestern Psychological Association is an excellent regional group that puts on an annual meeting in Chicago every year. Several UWL students have presented papers through Psi Chi at the MPA conference. Information on membership and the conference is available at this site.

Graduate School

What are different ways to become a licensed therapist?

One of the most confusing parts about the pathway to becoming a licensed practitioner of clinical or counseling services is that there is no one direct path. The one clear piece is that you cannot deliver clinical services with a B.S. or B.A. in psychology--some additional training, education, and clinical supervision is required. To help clarify the different licenses and degrees, check out this summary document, Graduate School Training in Mental Health, jointly created by Ryan McKelley, a licensed psychologist (LP)/health service provider (HSP), and Jeff Reiland, a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT)/certified substance abuse counselor (CSAC). NOTE: The summary does not cover other clinical or mental health providers such as school psychologist, school counselor, or school social worker. That information can be found at Differences Among Helping School Professionals available from UWL's School Psychology Program homepage.

What are the characteristics sought by graduate schools?

Graduate schools are looking for strong students with the initiative and ability to do graduate work. In particular, they need to know that YOU know why you want that particular degree. Consequently, the follow criteria play the largest role in admissions. 

  • Objective criteria: grades and GRE scores
  • Non-objective criteria listed in order of importance to doctoral programs:
    • Letters of recommendation
    • Personal statement
    • Interview (if applicable)
    • Research experience
    • Clinically related public service
    • Work experience
    • Extracurricular activity
Steps involved in applying to graduate school

There are five major steps involved in applying to graduate school.

  1. Decide whether graduate school in psychology is right for you.
  2. Define the area of concentration and degree that you will pursue.
  3. Research schools and programs and choose a range of places to which you want to apply.
  4. Complete the applications to these programs.
  5. Attend interviews (if applicable) and make a final decision regarding which program you will attend.

*It is an excellent idea to save copies of strong papers you have written for courses to serve as writing samples that may be requested by graduate schools.

Letters of Recommendation - what psychology faculty require

1. Set up a meeting to discuss the recommendation in person.

2. Provide complete information to the faculty member 2-4 weeks PRIOR to the deadline.  Provide all of the information/forms for each school at one time.

3.  Student information

  • an unofficial transcript with any/all courses completed with the instructor highlighted.
  • an up-to-date resume
  • a draft or final copy of a sample letter of intent
  • notes regarding anything special you wish for them to note

4. School information: 

  • A table with information about teach school including the name of the school, the type and name of the graduate program, and the due date.  Indicate if the reference is electronic or paper.
  • Make sure to complete the information about the faculty member on each form and sign the waiver provided by the school.

If you will need letters after graduating, we recommend you provide a short update to your faculty regarding your current and future plans every ~6 months.

How to find graduate schools