Or Programs Outside of Psychology You Might Want to Consider
Here are some other types of graduate programs that you may want to consider:
- Law School – The legal profession has been hit by the recession and good jobs are harder to come by, but the law is still a good career choice. Your BA in psychology is good preparation for law school though you will learn a different way to research legal issues.
- Business School – I mentioned the MBA above already. Another option to consider is a doctorate in business. You will use a lot of your psychological knowledge in this field and people with doctorates in business are in short supply. This may be the best degree you could get if you want to get a tenure track academic position.
- Public Health – your training in psychology – especially statistics and research methods is good preparation for graduate school in public health. With an MPH or doctorate in Public Health you can even specialize in psychological health issues in large populations as well as social justice issues related to health. The job outlook for Public Health graduate degree holders is good.
- Medicine – You will need to do pre-med science requirements in addition to your psychology BA requirements to qualify. Every year I am asked whether it is better to become a psychiatrist or psychologist and I never hesitate to say psychiatrist. While career quality has decreased for MDs, it is even worse for psychologists. And MDs still rule the roost when it comes to any kind of health care profession. Medical schools have a lot of money and they treat their students well. MD training is a long haul but in the end you will be better paid, command more respect and status, and have more flexibility with regard to career options.
- Interdisciplinary Programs – There are a whole range of these from Family Studies to Behavioral Health. One of these programs may be a great fit to your interests. A lot of these programs are housed in big universities in out of the way departments. As a result they get few applicants and they may have money to support graduate students. This is definitely something worth researching.
- Cognate Disciplines – This might include Social Work, Sociology, Artificial Intelligence, Political Science – really almost any social or behavioral science. Again, if what you are interested in studying is in one of these areas it is worth thinking about.
- Alternative Medicine – If you want to provide clinical services but are not enamored of the dominant medical model that is more and more coming to pervade clinical psychology you might want to consider going into alternative medicine. There are few choices here, all of which have a more holistic philosophy than western medicine and clinical psychology. If you are interested in the relationship of the structure of the body to mental and physical health you might want to consider a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) or doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degree. DOs have essentially the same training and medical license as MDs, but tend to be a bit more holistic with some getting training in structural alignment techniques. Chiropractors have their own license and provide treatment focused primarily on the structural alignment of the spine. Naturopathic doctors (ND) provide holistic care based on natural remedies like herbs and nutrition to treat patients. In some states both chiropractors and naturopaths can perform minor surgery and prescribe western medications (they cannot do these things in California). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctors (who have either a masters in TCM, or an Oriental Medicine Doctor degree) treat patients with acupuncture and herbs. They have their own license and are generally well respected by western MDs (which can’t be said for DCs and NDs). TCM practitioners are trained in a 5000-year-old tradition that is especially good at preventing disease. Most practitioners of these alternative medicine modalities have great career opportunities. They typically have thriving private practices.