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400+
undergraduate psychology majors at UM
100%
of those with a graduate degree in psychology from UM find a job in their chosen field
10.4%
employment growth for school psychologists between 2020 and 2030
What can you do with a Psychology degree?
Psychology is a versatile degree that can prepare you for a career in mental health services, business, research, and more. Many of our psychology majors also continue on to graduate school in mental health treatment-related fields (including counseling, social work, school psychology, and clinical psychology) and training in specific areas of research psychology.
Psychology jobs
What can you do with a bachelor’s in psychology? Your study of psychology will provide the foundational knowledge for a wide range of jobs. Here are a few career options psychology graduates go into, including some that require graduate training:
- Social worker
- Career counselor
- School Psychologist*
- Psychologist*
- Mental health counselor*
- Human resources specialist
- Corrections officer
- Business, marketing, and sales
- Real estate agent
- Preschool teacher
- Politics
- Business owner
- Statistician
- Attorney*
- Advocacy
(*Requires additional graduate training)
Psychology salaries
Graduates with a bachelor’s in psychology earn a national average of $68,557 per year.
Psychology Alumni Success Story
Class of 2023 graduate Jessica Ponce earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and left a legacy of supporting inclusion on campus.
As an executive member of the Pacific Islanders Club, student ambassador, UM golf team athlete and member of the Athletic Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Ponce brought people together, connecting all of her roles on different committees and bringing people together.
“She’s just one of those people that you want to be around,” says Salena Beaumont Hill, UM director of Inclusive Excellence for Student Success. “I knew she had really good connections with all the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ in our center.”
After graduation, Ponce will intern with an organization focused on Asian and Pacific Islander leadership in Asian communities, then plans to head to Japan to teach English, fulfilling her dream of living and working overseas.
“I actually accomplished a lot ... but there’s still more I want to do,” she says.
Experiential learning in the psychology bachelor’s degree program
Engage in hands-on, real-world training that will make you stand out to employers when you graduate and hit the ground running in your career. As a psychology major at UM, you’ll have access to numerous internship opportunities in the mental health field — working with addiction treatment centers, group homes, mental health centers and other organizations in Missoula and around Montana.
We also offer exciting opportunities for undergraduate research, which give you the chance to join faculty in their laboratories as undergraduate research assistants and engage in every aspect of research projects from conception to presentation. Faculty specializations within our psychology department include:
- Clinical psychology (with specializations in adult and child psychopathology, trauma, LGBTQ+, health psychology, eating disorders, intimate partner violence, addictions, neuropsychology, and Indigenous issues).
- School psychology (with specializations in crisis prevention, resilience, culturally responsive evidence-based practices, and bullying prevention in school settings).
- Experimental psychology (with specializations in cognition, social psychology, quantitative psychology, child development, nature of mind, cognitive neuroscience, and comparative psychology).
Indians into Psychology
UM is home of one of only three Indians into Psychology programs in the country. The goal of InPsych is to prepare licensed American Indian and Alaska Native clinical psychologists for work in reservation communities and urban Indian health programs to fill the need for culturally competent care and to address health disparities. The program includes scholarship opportunities for undergraduate Ñý¼§Ö±²¥.
Living Lab
The City of Missoula and UM received a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to build a living lab and sculptural DNA climber in the new Missoula Public Library — offering majors in psychology and other UM Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ unique opportunities to share research with the public.
Career development in the psychology major
At the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥, we help you succeed in your career as well as in the classroom. Although the bachelor’s in psychology is one of our largest programs here on campus, you’ll never feel lost in the mix — we offer incredible opportunities to work one-on-one with faculty, engage in research that will position you for success post-graduation, and learn in a caring and supportive environment.
Our program also prepares Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ for advanced study in the field. Bachelor’s Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ who are interested in pursuing graduate degrees in psychology are encouraged to participate in research experiences (all our faculty have active labs), take a wide variety of courses and pursue specialization options that interest them.
With dedicated advisors serving undergraduate psychology Ñý¼§Ö±²¥, our faculty’s open-door policies and a department-wide commitment to mentoring Ñý¼§Ö±²¥, our psychology graduates go on to successful careers in a wide range of fields.
Psychology scholarships
Get help paying for your bachelor’s in psychology. We offer several departmental scholarships and awards in the psychology program at UM. Learn more about scholarship opportunities for psychology majors.
Requirements for a psychology degree at UM
Our psychology bachelor’s degree program includes courses such as Psychology Statistics, Advanced Psychological Research Methods, Child Development, Psychology of Aging, Abnormal Psychology, Human Neuropsychology, Forensic Psychology, Psychology of Family Violence, Health Psychology, and Multicultural Psychology.
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