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Careers in Psychology - Postgraduate
Around a quarter of psychology students who graduated in 2007 went on to further study. Postgraduate studying and training is a requirement for becoming a Chartered Psychologist. Also, many psychology graduates who do not wish to go on to become psychologists often choose to do a postgraduate qualification in their chosen area (e.g. employment and selection, advertising, marketing or teaching), either straight after graduation or when returning to education later in their careers. It is also necessary to complete postgraduate training to be registered with the Health Professionals Council (HPC). The HPC regulate practitioner psychologists in the UK. In order to offer services to the public as a psychologist in one of the seven applied areas regulated by the HPC, you need to complete an HPC approved programme of training. The areas of psychology regulated by the HPC are Clinical, Counselling, Educational, Forensic, Health, Occupational and Sport and Exercise Psychology. Please see the Types of Psychologist section of the website for more information on these areas. The British Psychological Society is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK, with numerous benefits of membership. The Society accredits training routes that allow people to become Chartered Psychologists and use the abbreviation CPsychol after their name. CPsychol is the benchmark of professional recognition and reflects the highest standard of psychological knowledge and expertise. Routes to Chartered Status
The exact qualifications and training required to achieve Chartered Status depend on what area you want to specialise in, but will generally involve taking an accredited doctorate or master's degree, followed by a period of supervised practice. Entry requirements for postgraduate courses
Graduates with a 2:2 or lower grade will not normally be accepted unless they have achieved some higher qualification as well, such as a masters. Course organisers will be sufficient knowledge of academic and research abilities. Usually this means a MSc/MPhil in which the candidate has successfully completed an applied research project, preferably in an area relevant to the area of psychology you want to pursue. The Society does not accredit this type of course, but there are a few websites to help you find an appropriate course such as the ones below: You should check with universities that offer postgraduate training to find out if completing a master's will be sufficient for entry. Work experience
You will often find that you have to work on a voluntary basis in order to gain enough experience to find paid work. Consider what type of people you want to work with and contact local organisations and charities that are relevant. For example, if you want to work with children, get in touch with your Local Education Authority, children’s charity or the children's unit at your local hospital. Unfortunately, the Society cannot directly help you to find posts or work experience. Information on the few vacancies open to students before completing their degree is normally sent to university psychology departments rather than to the Society. However, there are a number of useful websites to help you identify local volunteering opportunities such as:
For more information on the work experience required for specific areas of psychology training, please have a look at the appropriate areas of psychology page. Funding for coursesCourse organisers are usually best placed to give advice on funding. The British Psychological Society does not currently offer any student bursaries, but does have a Funding Opportunities Database giving details of funding at both postgraduate and post-doctorate levels. There are also a number of other websites that offer information about postgraduate funding. A few examples are listed below: Funding for courses - useful links
If you are an overseas student intending to study in the UK or a UK student looking to study overseas, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) website has information on scholarships, bursaries and awards available from universities, charities, trusts and other funding sources. The ACU does not offer awards to UK students intending to study in the UK. Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group (PsyPAG)
If you are studying psychology at postgraduate level, you may be interested in the Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group (PsyPAG). PsyPAG is a voluntary organisation run by postgraduates for postgraduates. They run an annual workshop and conference, produce a quarterly journal (cunningly entitled The Quarterly), and run an electronic mailing list to help postgraduate psychology students keep in touch with one another. PsyPAG has no official membership scheme; anyone studying psychology at postgraduate level is entitled to call him- or herself a member for PsyPAG. Please visit the PsyPAG website for further details. Useful Documents
Other useful linksFrequently asked questionsPlease check out our Careers FAQs if you have any queries, including how to contact the Society's Help Desk.Next steps
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