2 answers
Micayla
Student
Ridgeville, South Carolina
1
Question
Asked
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What are the best classes for me to study in college for seeking a Psychology degree, that you wish you would have taken??
I am starting college in August 2025 with a major in Psychology. What advice would you give someone who is just starting out in this field? Are there any internships that would allow me to get real world experience to ensure this really is my carrer path?
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2 answers
Gurpreet Lally
CareerVillage.org TeamSr. Community Manager at CareerVillage
136
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Gurpreet’s Answer, CareerVillage.org Team
Hi Macayla,
I would say that is really depends on the field you want to go into but some of my favorite psychology classes included:
- Abnormal Psychology: I learned so much about different disorders, treatments, etc
- Social Psychology: This tends to be the psychology that most people think of! You learn about how human behavior changes in the presence of others
- If you're also interested in neuroscience or are looking for a challenge, any sort of psychobiology class is a must
While it can be difficult to secure a psych internship (those tend to be reserved for graduate school students), there are plenty of other ways you can expose yourself to the field:
1. Get involved with research: Many, if not most, psychology professors run their own labs and regularly do research. Often times, they are looking for undergrad research assistants and research participants.
2. Volunteer: One of my favorite volunteer experiences was working with the Crisis Textline where you are helping folks in crisis via text. I'm sure there are other mental health related nonprofit organizations that have volunteer opportunities that could help you explore the field.
3. Do informational interviews: Talk with your professors, alumni from your school, or others in the field to ask them questions about their careers. This can give you some insight into if this is the right field for you and might lead to a great shadowing opportunity!
I would say that is really depends on the field you want to go into but some of my favorite psychology classes included:
- Abnormal Psychology: I learned so much about different disorders, treatments, etc
- Social Psychology: This tends to be the psychology that most people think of! You learn about how human behavior changes in the presence of others
- If you're also interested in neuroscience or are looking for a challenge, any sort of psychobiology class is a must
While it can be difficult to secure a psych internship (those tend to be reserved for graduate school students), there are plenty of other ways you can expose yourself to the field:
1. Get involved with research: Many, if not most, psychology professors run their own labs and regularly do research. Often times, they are looking for undergrad research assistants and research participants.
2. Volunteer: One of my favorite volunteer experiences was working with the Crisis Textline where you are helping folks in crisis via text. I'm sure there are other mental health related nonprofit organizations that have volunteer opportunities that could help you explore the field.
3. Do informational interviews: Talk with your professors, alumni from your school, or others in the field to ask them questions about their careers. This can give you some insight into if this is the right field for you and might lead to a great shadowing opportunity!
Annah Edmonds
Licensed Clinical Counselor and Art Therapist
221
Answers
Seattle, Washington
Updated
Annah’s Answer
Micayla, congrats! Being an undergraduate is tricky because you cannot do clinical work. Also, whether you major in psychology or not, there truly is no single recipe for coursework leading into a career within this field. Of course, graduate programs will have pre-requisites in psychology (around three classes total), but your own curiosity, insight, and awareness is most important. I am not advising you to change your major, just know people enter into psychology with a number of different backgrounds. Seek out the classes you find most interesting, whether related to psychology or not. I have found that most topics do relate in some way or complement one another. Learning APA, developing strong writing skills, exploring outlets that strengthen your creative problem solving, etc. Being involved in sports or creative pursuits is great for building your communication, flexibility, and perseverance. You will need all these things. Often working in mental health is about thinking on your feet, tailoring the work intuitively, and having the fortitude to keep going. What you can do is begin to explore what career paths may interest you- working with children/youth, families, couples, individuals, research, forensic settings, teaching/academia, etc. Begin to gain experience as a volunteer or paid employee in places that allow you to observe such populations- for instance, after school programs, within school settings, nonprofit organizations that work with underserved groups, at a homeless shelter, food bank, or family support center. Any kind of social service work will give you a good foundation. If you like children, take classes in child development, child life, gender studies, and even education (may lead to interest in program development at some point). For expressive arts therapy, take art, drama, yoga, or dance. For interest in research, take statistics or look into assisting a professor active in scientific research and inquiry. For forensics, pursue criminal justice. For interest in mindfulness practices, try Eastern religious studies. If you like technology, it may translate to building mental health applications. All of these are suggestions of ways you might expand upon your learning. For every person, the path may look different.