There are two pathways for those with a Psychology Degree: Pursue further education to hone their skills or go directly into the work force to start their career.
See below for examples of the two pathways.
Further Education
Whether it is pursuing a career in the field of academia or searching for a program to specialize into a specific field, a Psychology degree from the University of Waterloo will equip you with the skills and knowledge to succeed in further education studies!
Graduate Studies at the University of Waterloo
As you may already be aware, the Psychology Department at the University of Waterloo has grown to be one of the most esteemed Departments of Psychology within Canada. Our graduate program is internationally renowned and, as a department, we are very proud of our diverse and highly-rated graduate program as well as our excellent graduate students and their many accomplishments.
We have 6 diverse but highly collaborative research areas to fit your research interests:
- Clinical
- Cognitive
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Developmental
- Industrial and Organizational
- Social
We are committed to providing all of our graduate students with an intellectually stimulating, flexible, and friendly environment in which to pursue their studies.
For more information, please view our graduate studies webpage.
Want to know what you can do now to prepare for graduate studies? Visit our Preparing for Graduate studies page!
Graduate Studies at another institution
There may be other institutions that offer Master's or PhD programs that have supervisors with research interests that overlap more with your own and that is ok! We believe that the education and experiences that we provide here at the University of Waterloo will make it so you are a strong candidate for any graduate school program!
We cannot speak on other institutions admissions processes and suggest that you research that in your own time. However, you can visit our Preparing for Graduate studies page to help with suggestions on what makes a good graduate candidate. Further, you can access the services that the Centre for Career Development provides to undergraduate students. These services include help with building an academic CV and graduate school applications. Do not hesitate to reach out and start planning your future!
Other Programs
There is a wide range of other programs that will build upon the knowledge you gain through our Bachelor's degree. Many of these programs allow you to focus on a certain career field such as a Speech language pathologist, early childhood education, or Public Health policy.
Please visit our other future education programs website for more information.
Careers after bachelor's
If you are wondering where a Psychology degree will take you in the outside world, just know that the skills and experiences you gained in your time here will make you a valuable employee!
Career Advising
The Centre for Career Development is a valuable asset for undergraduate students seeking information about their future career goals. They host regular workshops on resume building, interview skills and how to market yourself and degree to future employers. They also have career advising appointments that you can book with their career advisors to discuss your future career goals and assist with achieving them!
The Centre for Career Development is not only for helping with building resumes and helping you navigate the workforce post-graduation, they also assist with Graduate School applications and academic CV's as well!
Checkout the Centre for Career Development and the CareerHub for more details!
Marketable skills
Once you have finished your degree here at the University of Waterloo, we believe that you have gained a plethora of skills and experiences that will make you a valuable candidate for most workplaces and positions. Below are some of the transferable or marketable skills that you have gained through your time here at Waterloo and will make you stand out in that next job application!
Observation, analytic, numeracy, and computer skills
Psychology Majors receive extensive training in data analysis and interpretation. They have experience interpreting data summaries in both numerical and graphical forms. In addition, they learn how to apply quantitative and analytic skills in a variety of practical contexts. This training extends to computer-based skills including the use of statistical and graphics software in senior methods courses. Students may also use spreadsheets, databases, and specialized programming for experimental work.
Experimental procedures
Training in the analytic skills of experimental design is a major component of the Honours Psychology and, to a less degree, General Psychology curriculum. Students are trained to address problems of human motivation, memory, social relations, communication, and many other human capacities and dispositions by translating them into empirically testable hypotheses. This also entails training in critically evaluating claims about human abilities and inclinations.
Interviewing skills
Many areas of psychology often require the application of interviewing skills for very targeted purposes such as collecting data to address specific research questions. Skilled interviewing is directly relevant to such critical activities as making clinical diagnoses and hiring decisions.
Test construction, interpretation, and evaluation
This is a highly technical sub-discipline within psychology. Testing is a major component of much psychological research and practice and may often be combined with experimental procedures, fieldwork and naturalistic observation, as well as interviews.
Oral and written communication skills
Review papers and Experimental reports are an integral part of the Psychology education. Such writing requires integrating and organizing large amounts of material and communicating the results. Experimental reports allow Psychology Majors to gain experience in writing that, in contrast to the tradition of essay writing, requires making general ideas specific, achieving exacting precision in description, translating human action into quantitative terms, and employing mathematical procedures to evaluate theories. Considerable discipline is required to remain within the exacting confines of this genre.