Attention!

Portfolio is being decommissioned. This portfolio page will be available to view until July 2024, but will no longer be updated. For the most updated information, please go to our new Digication page at https://du.digication.com/cahss-psych

These resources are intended to help current and prospective psychology students understand our degree requirements and experiential opportunities.

You can access our anonymous input survey here.

There are many different types of graduate programs in psychology. We recommend you make an appointment with an academic advisor, and attend Graduate School and Career Night (scheduled for Weds, April 12, 2023 at 6 pm) as soon as possible for more detailed information about careers and graduate school. Many students also don't realize that there are many, many options for graduate programs, even for students who want to continue on in psychology (many of our majors don't). The Careers and Degrees in Psychology.pdf handout will show you some distinctions to consider when selecting your next steps. A big first question to ask yourself is if you see yourself as a therapist or counselor, or doing more research-related work, or if you're not sure yet.

Even students in their first and second years will benefit from talking with advisers and faculty members about graduate school. There are MANY types of graduate school options, so depending on what your goals are and how long you'd like to be in graduate school, our advice may differ. If you're unsure whether or not you'll need to attend graduate school to pursue your interests, see more about different psychology-relevant careers (counseling, therapy, social worker, and more) at this helpful website (note that some graduate schools pay for advertising space here). You may also wish to reference this website with paid research assistant positions listed.

For students planning to attend graduate school 
Admission to professional and graduate programs in psychology and related fields is affected by:

• letters of recommendation from faculty who know you well in laboratory (especially for PhD), and/or field work (especially for more therapy/counseling/clinical programs) and classroom settings;
• your grade point average;
• your standardized test scores (e.g., GRE);
• your overall academic record, including rigor of course selection;
• any research (especially for PhD) and/or clinical/field experience (especially for more therapy/counseling/clinical programs);
• the match between your goals, needs and skills and what the graduate program offers; and
• extraneous factors over which you have little or no control, such as the availability of fellowship money, government regulations and competition of the applicant pool.

We've selected coursework for psychology majors that prepares them for what most graduate programs require. Departmental academic advisers can also recommend specific electives in psychology that can be useful for each person's specific goals.

If you identify as a member of a marginalized group, there is a comprehensive set of resources meant to help navigate academic careers, beginning with applying to graduate school.

If you are interested in graduate school in clinical psychology, read useful information from the Council of Directors of Clinical Psychology (PDF). If you're unsure if a Clinical PhD is right for you, see this helpful resource.

For an extremely comprehensive guide to applying to PhD programs, especially in Clinical Psychology (but helpful information here for those who consider a clinical PhD and decide to do something else instead), written by Mitch Prinstein, Ph.D., can be found here.

For Students Not Planning to Attend Graduate School
Nationwide, only 25 percent of psychology majors pursue a graduate degree. Our bachelor's curriculum provides a strong academic foundation for many careers. An undergraduate degree in psychology provides training in skills employers are looking for, including:

• communication skills
• teamwork
• interpersonal skills
• problem solving
• ability to analyze information

Example career areas include:

• communications/public relations
• education
• journalism
• human-computer interaction
• human resources
• law enforcement
• retail sales
• management
• marketing

We recommend that students not going to graduate school talk with an advisor and explore DU's Career and Professional Development opportunities to create a plan of study that supports their interests and goals.