Careers in Psychology
A bachelor’s degree in psychology helps you understand how people think, feel, learn, and change, while building strong skills in research, communication, and critical thinking. It prepares you for meaningful careers in mental health, education, community services, policy, research, and human-centered fields like user experience and program evaluation. Psychology is both deeply human and rigorously scientific, today.
ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ Career Services
Career Services is ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ University’s on-campus centre for career development and exploration, employment preparation, and the primary place to find experiential learning opportunities for all current students and alumni.
Skills You Will Gain
A bachelor’s degree in psychology builds practical, transferable skills for any people-focused career. Students learn to understand human behavior, think critically about evidence, communicate clearly, and make ethical decisions in complex situations. Graduates are prepared for diverse paths in health, social services, education, business, policy, and further study.
Undergraduate Practicum
Our practicum course offers students an opportunity to gain professional work experience in an area related to their program. Throughout the practicum, students are guided by both an academic instructor and a workplace supervisor, helping them develop critical skills, solve complex problems, and gain valuable insights into their chosen profession.
Co-operative Education
Our co-operative education option combines traditional, in-class education with hands-on experience. Students in the co-op stream alternate study terms at ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ with work terms allowing them the opportunity to get a head start on a career. Co-op work terms allow for the development of key employability skills, exploration of career options and graduation with tangible, workplace experience—giving students a competitive edge in the job market after graduation.
Volunteering in a Psych Lab
Volunteers are typically responsible for assisting with data collection, coding data, and additional tasks facilitating the research process. There are multiple participating labs covering psychology’s major research areas, including cognitive, developmental, forensic, health, personality and social psychology.
Career Focused Courses
Transition to Career – PSYC 3802 – In this course, students explore personal and professional transitions including assessing their overall experience as a Psychology major, understanding their personal values and how they relate to potential careers. As well, students are introduced to some of the complex and dynamic aspects of the current work world including uncertainty and career changes.
Career Resources
At any point during your degree program, you should be in a position to discuss the various skills that you are working on and the skills that you plan to acquire. Take ownership of your learning.
ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ Psychology Career Resources
| Department | ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ |
|---|---|
| Co-op and Career Services | This ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ service offers a variety of resources in-person and online, including job postings, career workshops, and career exploration tools. They are also available for one-on-one consultations that can involve job search coaching, resume review, interview preparation and a wide range of other services. |
| – Available through Student Support Services in ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ Central – Search for jobs, volunteer positions and internships – Book career advising appointments – Register for workshops, employer recruitment and information sessions – Create an online resume and portfolio | |
| – Career Cruising – TypeFocus |
External Psychology Career Resources
| Resources | ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ |
|---|---|
| – Subfields of psychology – How to become a professional psychologist – Is psychology the Right Choice for Me? – Occupational Outlook – How to Succeed in University | |
| – What is a psychologist? – What do psychologists do? | |
| Employment Prospects for Individuals with a BA or B.Sc in Psychology | |
| An introduction to psychology, the kinds of work psychologists do, and the training required to become a psychologist. | |
| Extensive lists of psychology careers presented by |
Alumni Data
In an effort to help our students better understand where their degree may lead them in the future, we have collected information from graduates of our program over the last 15 years to determine which industries our alumni most often find employment. This chart provides a snapshot of our graduates at various stages of their career and as you will see below, the roles they end up pursuing are quite diverse.Â
Employment Sectors and Positions
- Administration and Management (Associate Director, Evaluation Officer, Project Manager)
- Human Services (Psychotherapist, Social Worker, Youth Support Worker)
- Human Resources and Finance (Human Resource Coordinator, Personal Finance Assistant, Technical Recruiter)
- Sales, Marketing and Entrepreneurship (Account Executive, Marketing Coordinator, Sales Manager)
- Education (Teacher, Learning and Development Advisor, Education Coordinator)
- Policy, Law and Public Safety
- Arts, Multimedia and Communications
- Hospitality, Retail and Tourism
- Graduate Studies
- Medical Profession
- Technology and Engineering
- Other (Post Secondary Education, Environment and Sustainability, etc.)
Job Titles
- Teacher
- Administrative Assistant
- Registered Psychotherapist
- Educational Assistant
- Executive Assistant
- Sales Associate
- Research Assistant
- Policy Analyst
- Occasional Teacher
- Real Estate Agent
- Early Childhood Educator
- Psychotherapist
- Registered Nurse
- Associate
- Operations Manager
- Customer Service Representative
- Project Officer
- Project Manager
- Human Resources Coordinator
- Account Manager
- Instructor Therapist
- Program Officer
- Social Worker
- Analyst