<p>I want to eventually work for an NGO as a psychologist, and am currently working on my undergrad degree in psychology. I am also learning French and Arabic. Can I get accepted into grad school for international relations with a psychology degree or should I change my degree to International Studies? Or is it a good idea to major in one and minor in the other? What should I do?</p>
<p>If you want to work as a psychologist, you need more than a bachelor’s degree in psychology. You will need to earn a Psy.D or Ph.D. Are you planning to get both a masters’ in IR and a psych doctorate? That’s a long time in school.</p>
<p>I don’t think a masters in IR would serve you as well as, say, using your language skills to secure a job or internship somewhere overseas, or perhaps joining the Peace Corps. You would be gaining real-world experience and, if not making a ton of money, at least not taking out even more student loans.</p>
<p>To work as a psychologist, you would need a graduate degree in psychology. Even with graduate training in psychology, I doubt there are many NGO jobs for psychologists.</p>
<p>I’m assuming your interest in an IR graduate program refers to a professional school of international affairs. Yes, you can enter such a program with an undergrad major in psychology. In addition to the language studies you are pursuing currently, basic coursework in statistics (required anyway for a psychology major) and economics is recommended. Some elective coursework in modern or diplomatic history, international relations, and international or development economics would enhance an application. So this could be an IR major + psychology minor or vice versa. If you wanted to do graduate study in psychology at some point, a major is recommended. A formal major or minor in IR isn’t necessary for graduate study in an IR professional program—you can major in any number of fields, e.g., languages, history, economics, political science, etc.though, as I mentioned, some coursework in IR, economics, and history is advisable. And I definitely agree with polarscribe’s comments about getting Peace Corps or other real world experience. See: [Association</a> of Professional Schools of International Affairs](<a href=“http://www.apsia.org/apsia/]Association”>APSIA 2018 Career Networking Reception - Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA))</p>
<p>If your interest in graduate IR study is in PhD program in the subfield of IR in a political science dept (as opposed to a professional school program), then an undergrad major in IR or in a related social science (e.g., economics, political science, sociology) or in an area studies program (e,g. Middle Eastern Studies) would be advisable.</p>