Best Psychology University in USA
The American Psychological Association (APA) believes that the development of psychology has a positive effect on the society of the country. It is able to improve the quality of life of each citizen in particular, which means that life will become better in all States. Such words even became the slogan of the association.
Indeed, the branch of psychology occupies a very important place in American society. It is constantly evolving and improving. At the moment, you can get an education in psychology in the United States in fifty specializations.
If you believe the statistics, then every third citizen of the United States at least once turned to a psychologist to solve certain problems. Therefore, the country will pay a lot of attention to universities that train such specialists. The international rating showed that out of the fifteen best institutes that produce qualified psychologists, ten are located in the United States.
Education for a psychologist in the USA
If you want to connect your life with the study of human behavior, his personality and help people live happily in a healthy emotional state, then you should definitely pay attention to psychology universities in the USA. Admission to such a university will be the first and most successful step to realize your potential. There you will be given all the necessary knowledge and base that you will apply in practice.
Junior Specialist in Psychology
You don’t have to graduate from psychology universities in the US to become an associate. For this, college courses will suffice, which last an average of two years. There you will get general knowledge and ideas about the profession and such a science as psychology. But no specialization.
A junior specialist can work:
volunteer;
in social projects;
be a psychologist’s assistant.
Often they get jobs in kindergartens or elementary educational institutions to help children adapt to the team and avoid conflicts.
But there can be no talk of any independent work, scientific achievements, and even more so personal counseling. To do this, you will have to continue your studies at the University of Psychology in the United States.
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Bachelor of Psychology
A Bachelor of Psychology is already a real and full-fledged education in this field. To get a bachelor’s degree, you need to study at a college or university in psychology in the United States for four years. The first two years you will receive a general education, which will include not only subjects related to psychology, but also related to them. Then you will be asked to choose a narrower specialization. They are enough. But by this time, students already understand in which particular area they want to work in the future.
From the specializations that begin in the third year of study, you can choose social, anomalous, comparative, physiological psychology, or any other. Or you can go the other way and become a teacher in this industry.
After graduating from college and receiving a diploma, you can apply for a position as a social worker, laboratory assistant, or employee of rehabilitation centers of various specializations.
MSc and PhD in Psychology
Earning a master’s or PhD degree opens up all kinds of opportunities for you in the world of psychology. You can conduct personal consultations and open a private office, specialize in forensic psychology or work as an in-house psychologist in the largest and most famous companies. You will also have the opportunity to write scientific papers and conduct your own research. Each such specialist receives a narrower education. Roughly speaking, the more you study, the narrower your specialization.
To start your career as a full-fledged specialist in psychology, a master’s degree from a US university or one of the higher schools will be enough. At the institute they teach more theory, and at school – practice.
After earning a master’s degree, you will be able to provide psychological assistance and counseling, but you will not be considered a certified specialist. To do this, it will not be enough for you to graduate from a psychology university in the USA. You must have a doctoral degree. If you want to work only as a practicing psychologist, then a doctorate will not be useful to you. If you want to dedicate your life to science, research and teaching, then this degree is indispensable.
The path of a professional psychologist in America is not easy and rather long. After you get your doctorate, you will need to train for about a year as a research assistant. Then you get a subspecialty, such as a clinical psychologist.
Admission to psychology universities in the USA
If you are thinking about how to become a psychologist in the United States, you should know that in this country the selection for universities is stricter. The further you study, the higher the requirements will be placed on you. At the same time, the admission scheme and requirements at psychology universities in the United States are approximately the same, and this simplifies the application process.
Top US Psychology Universities
Psychology training in the United States can be obtained at various educational institutions. The best of them are:
University of Illinois Chicago;
Florida Institute of Technology;
Texas Tech University;
Iowa State University of Science and Technology;
University of New Orleans;
Keiser University;
Yale University;
University of California Los Angeles and many others.
The cost of studying at the university directly depends on which educational institution you choose. If this is El or Harvard, then be prepared to pay about fifty thousand dollars a year, or even more. But the difficulties will lie not only in the financial side of the issue. The competition in such high places is very difficult, only the student with the highest marks and indicators is enrolled. And there are always a lot of people who want to enter prestigious institutions, moreover, these are applicants from all over the world, and not just from America. A less-rated university will not cost much less – about forty thousand. For college, you will need to pay a minimum of thirty thousand dollars annually.