9 Different Types of Psychology Majors

The world of psychology is filled with many different concepts and ideas divided into separate fields of study. The general psychology major can bring the opportunity of various career paths, most depending on the level of education you receive.

With such a wide variety of options to choose from, you may be stuck wondering where to go past the general interest in psychology. This list of psychology majors will help you understand how you want to specialize your interest and move forward in your potential career journey.

1. Clinical Psychology

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Clinical psychology covers the process of treating mental illnesses and psychiatric disorders. One of the main skills taught is how to directly assess a patient to help them create a plan for working on the psychological factor that they are struggling with. 

Most of the career options for this major require a doctorate, so you will have to buckle in for many years of education. Since all psychology majors require an intense amount of writing and literature, adding onto your time in school will be a major task to take on.

2. Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology is the direct bridge from psychology to law and investigations. When going down this educational path, you can expect to find yourself working directly in the legal system with law enforcement and the justice department.

Your career may include analyzing current case files, talking directly with defendants to determine mental stability, and even testifying in court about your findings. You’ll have to focus on profiling both victims and accused assailants. This may lead to witnessing some difficult images and information, so you will definitely have to prepare yourself for that. 

3. Clinical Child Psychology

Clinical child psychology focuses on the assessment, treatment, and counseling of children, infants, and teenagers. You will learn about development and how essential it is for a child’s health. You will also have the opportunity to work with pediatric doctors due to your understanding of the psychological side of children’s health.

4. Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is the major that will continue the cycle of teaching students about psychology. In your own education, you will learn all about the various branches of psychology in depth.

Once you’ve covered the basics, you will also learn how to properly educate and teach that information to other people. Psychology can be taught in both high school and college level, so you will get to make the decision on what age range you want to teach, which may also have an effect on the type of degree you need.

5. Health/Medical Psychology

Health and medical psychology primarily involves researching and analyzing how the mind affects physical illnesses and overall health. This type of major will involve a high quantity of science and learning about testing ethics and experimentation.

You will also focus on society and the social factors involved in struggles with mental health. Medicine is another factor that will impact any research conducted, and you will have to learn extensively about common psychotropic medications.

6. Family Psychology

Family psychology involves giving counsel to families and working closely with related parties to help them work through any issues or strains in their relationships. For this major, you will have to be very good at identifying social cues and determining what is going on for each person that is talking to you.

Working with a family can be complex and things may get intense, so you have to be willing to keep a level head and stay patient. You will have to learn about family systems, domestic violence and disputes, common marital issues, and sex therapy.

7. Sports Psychology

Majoring in sports psychology means that you will learn about the way mental health and psychological processes affect physical health and athletic abilities. Many athletes end up working directly with sports psychologists to improve their ability to focus, strategize their training, and work towards a higher level of motivation. 

This could lead to careers for entire sports teams, or with individual professional athletes. You can also freelance and work on and off with whatever athlete is interested, as some do not want to work with a sports psychologist long-term.

8. Community Psychology

Community psychology focuses on researching society as a whole and how humans interact. Social norms and human patterns are something you would learn about. You will focus on the way society creates its standards and how people are impacted by the majority. 

The way a community comes together and how they cope with different situations is often a common topic discussed and researched with community psychology.

9. Experimental Psychology

Experimental psychology is exactly what the title says. The major focuses on the scientific method and all matters of experiments and research deep into the psychological field. This is the major that brings new ideas and concepts into question, in order to further the level of understanding professionals have of the mind.

This major is at the front of all psychological studies since the main goal is to discover more about the brain and how it functions. You will also study statistics and experimental ethics. 

Why is psychology so important?

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Overall, the ability to understand why people do what they do and how they might react to things is important. Psychology gives people the opportunity to learn more about themselves and focus on working to become better people.

When you become licensed and are able to counsel others and help them work on themselves, you get to play a part in changing the narrative and breaking the stigma around mental health and reaching out. Many people do not understand how beneficial therapy and psychiatric resources can be, and your expertise may help both you and those around you learn.

Each major may have their differences, but they all focus on learning about people and how to help them cope with mental health to become the best they can be. Psychology shows people what connects humans, and that is an incredibly useful skill to have.