subject: How to be a Psychology Professor [print this page] How to be a Psychology Professor How to be a Psychology Professor
Psychology ranks amongst the top most-popular courses taken up in post secondary learning the world over. The popularity of this discipline has seen the proliferation and saturation of this career field. Graduates often get assimilated into the workforce as teachers, counselors, researchers and administrators. For those keen on teaching, becoming a psychology professor may be a career line worth pursuing. But what does it take to become a psychology professor?
Pursuing a career in psychology begins with a desire to become involved in the various aspects that define the psychology discipline. This passion should culminate in pursuing a Bachelors degree in psychology. This is a four year program that includes modules such as introduction to social sciences, discovering psychology sub-fields and exploring psychological theories.
A bachelor's degree equips students to understand diverse ideas, theories and concepts, as well as analyze, evaluate and debate psychological theories and situations. This degree course will terminate in a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
After achieving this first step to becoming a psychology professor, the aspirant must now decide on specialization. The field of psychology is broad and this means that in order to pursue higher learning, one must specialize. Areas of specialization include forensic, clinical, counseling, developmental, social, research and organizational psychology. Getting a teaching or research position is the next step. This will begin to build on the necessary experience needed to join a Masters program. After deciding what sub-discipline to concentrate on, application to a Masters program should commence.
Further education is a prerequisite to advancing to a psychology professor position, and as such, this should be the main focus in graduate school. A Masters program takes roughly two years and provides the student with a solid foundation in their area of specialization. At this juncture, taking up a teaching position may be an added advantage as this will develop one's communication and teaching skill. A Masters program will prepare the student for industrial-organizational positions or research assistant positions working under doctorate-level psychologists.
At this stage of one's training, one is halfway the distance to becoming a psychology professor. The next step after finishing the Masters level of training is to apply for a doctorate degree. The reason for this is that most teaching positions at the professor level are only open to doctorate and higher level psychologists. Pursuing a doctorate requires five years of full-time graduate study concluding with a dissertation based on new research. This achievement opens the door to teaching positions available in a host of teaching institutions in the country and worldwide.
The road towards becoming a psychology professor requires experience, accreditation and continual learning. The ultimate qualification for a psychology professor would be a Ph.D in psychology. This would make it possible for the candidate to hold positions such as Dean of Faculty, Principal, Chancellor, and so on. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, doctorate or Ph.D psychologists are expected to have growing job opportunities with an average wage potential of over $100,000 per year.
Argosy University offers a wide selection of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in a variety of psychology concentrations at 19 locations across the nation.
