What Can You Do With a Masters in Psychology?

Discover four non-psychology based career paths where our Psychology MSc could help you to stand out

Students on our distance learning Psychology Masters conversion course join us from many different walks of life. For some, the course offers the knowledge and the British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation they need to become a chartered psychologist, a career path you can learn more about here. For others, it’s a unique chance to build an in-depth understanding of how we think, feel and act, which could help them to kickstart a career in a new industry, thrive in their current role or give them the confidence they need to take the next step up.

Below we take a closer look at four alternative sectors where having a Masters degree in Psychology could help you to stand out.

What Can I do with a Psychology degree - image of people in shop

1. Business

Why do we buy some products but not others? How does the media influence our buying choices? How does our psychology have an impact on our motivations, our ability to lead and our relationships with our colleagues?

Knowledge of the human mind is vital in supporting organisations to thrive. Not only does it help business professionals to understand more about what employees need in order to perform to the best of their abilities, it also helps to inform them of the emotional, mental and behavioural responses that dictate why consumers make certain choices.

Undertaking a Masters in Psychology could be an excellent choice if you currently working within, or you’re looking to start a career in business management, marketing, PR, human resources and more.

Here at Northumbria, our Psychology MSc will help you to:

Gain an understanding of both the biological and social processes that underpin human behaviour, knowledge that is highly sought-after by public relations specialists, marketing managers, communications specialists and more
Unearth the science behind psychometric testing, a useful tool to utilise in order to hire employees who are a perfect fit for your company
Draw out valuable insights from the data your organisation holds through an in-depth focus throughout the course on Data Analysis and research.

2. Health and Social Care

Along with excellent communication skills, many health and social care roles require individuals who can act quickly to build strong relationships with their clients and assist them during particularly difficult situations. If you work in social work, community support and outreach, mental health or nursing, a degree in Psychology in conjunction with specialist occupational training could open many doors and help you to build closer relationships with your service-users.

Over the course of our Psychology MSc, you will discover more about:

The biological systems that underpin our behaviour, helping you to understand more about how biological make-up could impact the ways in which your clients respond to certain situations
How our childhood impacts our future development, assisting you to recognise how early experiences have an impact on your clients’ thoughts, emotions and behaviours
How the make-up of our brain makes a difference to our personality, aiding you to understand more about the science behind mental health and personality disorders.

3. Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

As the worlds of computing and AI become increasingly intertwined, a new generation of specialists are needed to create machines which can perform human-like feats of cognition, including learning by themselves, decision making and speech. And within the exciting realms of HCI, specialist researchers are required to observe the way that humans interact with computers and create innovations which enable them to interact with new technology in novel ways.

If you work in this field or as a computer scientist or programmer, our Psychology MSc will help you to:

Discover the theory behind working memory through a dedicated module on Individual Differences
Explore the science behind perception, attention, memory, decision making and language on our Cognitive and Developmental Psychology module
Give you the specialist knowledge of how the mind works and how we communicate that could help create ground-breaking machine learning systems and interaction processes.

4. Education

Play therapists, education consultants, teachers, Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), school counsellors and career advisors all need to be skilled in developing relationships with young people and looking at issues from multiple perspectives. If you work in an educational setting, or you’re looking to break into the sector, a Psychology MSc combined with specialist occupational training could help you to stand out.

Throughout our Psychology MSc, you’ll:

Learn how to apply psychological theory, research and techniques in different situations, which could include supporting children, young people and their families
Gain an excellent grounding in emotional development, attachment theory and developmental disorders through our dedicated Cognitive and Development Psychology module
Understand more about the psychology of your students, assisting you to meet their individual needs.

Broaden Your Mind: Join Our Psychology Masters

No matter which career path you choose, our distance learning Psychology MSc (conversion course) will help you to develop a wide range of transferrable skills that will make your CV shine – from problem-solving to communication, independent research to teamwork and more. You’ll also have the freedom to study part time, whenever and wherever you want. To find out more, visit the course page.