Careers in Psychology

Students are increasingly wanting to make sure that the degree program that they choose is one that will help them get a job and/or enrich their career opportunities upon graduation. In this regard, pursuing a degree in Psychology offers some of the widest opportunities of any program that you could choose. Indeed, psychology’s focus on the mental processes underlying human thought and behaviour provides direct relevance to a diverse array of real-world careers and skillsets. Moreover, students in our programs not only gain a foundational education in psychological principles, but also develop critical thinking, reasoning, and communication skills, formalized training in research methods and statistics, and an appreciation for the ethical and judicial treatment of persons. For this reason, Psychology attracts students in large numbers, and serves as a stepping stone for a wide variety of career opportunities, including business, law, social work, journalism, corrections, human resources, policing, teaching, public relations, mental health, marketing, advertising, medicine, data science, and more (including Master’s/Doctoral programs in a variety of disciplines).

To help you better understand exactly what opportunities could be available to you upon graduation, we have copied information provided by The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) below, which outlines the various career opportunities that can be available for students graduating with either a BA or BSc degree in Psychology.

Psychology as a career

A bachelor’s degree (BA or BSc) may be the first step on the road to graduate-level training to become a psychologist. This applies both to research careers (e.g., university professor) and becoming a practicing psychologist. There are several areas of specialization for those who wish to pursue post-graduate training at the Master’s or Doctoral level; within each area, one may choose sub-specialties in which to teach, conduct research, be a practitioner, or some combination of these three activities.

Other careers open to psychology graduates

Both the skills and knowledge acquired through the baccalaureate programs provide preparation for a variety of career fields, including but not limited to personnel, labour relations, social services, technical writing, corrections, probation, parole, marketing and public relations, gerontology, health services, fundraising and mental health.

Careers built on psychology skills and knowledge

A bachelor’s degree in psychology often serves as a valuable preliminary step to other professional careers such as medicine, law, management, social work, and education. Psychology graduates also sometimes pursue careers in, for example, economics, journalism and business. This often requires further study.

Have more questions? We're happy to help! For more information on job searches and career paths, or to book an appointment with a career counsellor, please contact the Career Centre.