Must you major in psychology in order to go to grad school to become a psychologist?

College Majors
1

<p>Just wondering. In four years I'll have a journalism / international relations degree, but I may want to go to grad school to become a psychologist. </p>

<p>I know that people with seemingly irrelevant majors, music for example, attend med school all the time. Does the same apply for people who attend grad school to become psychologists?</p>

2

<p>It all depends on the grad school. Your best bet would be to look up the entry/admission requirements for different graduate psychology schools/programs you might be interested in. In most cases, though, the answer would be yes, you can do that if you wish.</p>

<p>Instinctually, though, I would recommend at least getting a psych minor or a minor in a related field such as sociology or social work. Double-majoring in IR and Journalism seems somewhat of an odd choice if you desire to be a clinical psychologist. Are you thinking about writing about psychology or something?</p>

<p>Ultimately, though, you can generally crossover to another graduate program no matter what your major (BA) was in. The disadvantage would be that you will be expected fulfill some prereqs for the grad courses, which you will need to make up if you did not do them as an undergrad.</p>

<p>I checked my school's Psy.D. prereqs for a BA-holding candidate wishing to do the 6-yr Pre-Psy.D.-->Psy.D. track. The following undergraduate courses are REQUIRED before admission to the program:</p>

<pre><code>* Abnormal Psychology
* General/Introduction to Psychology
* Human Growth and Development
* Theories of Personality
* Introduction to Statistics
</code></pre>

<p>In addition, the following masters-level courses would have to be taken for acceptance into the Psy.D. program itself:</p>

<pre><code>* Child Abuse (seven hours; suitable for licensure)
* Family Therapy (introductory/overview)
* Human Sexuality/Sex Therapy
* Introduction to Clinical Practice
* Introduction to Psychological Testing
* Psychotherapy and Cultural Diversity
* Psychopathology
* Theories of Personality
</code></pre>

<p>So, in essence, I would suggest taking at least some basic psychology courses during your undergraduate years to prepare for graduate work. Additionally, the more time you spend in psychology, the better you are likely to understand it and therefore the better a psychologist you can be.</p>

3

<p>Thanks very much for the input - it was exactly what I was looking for.</p>