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Is it a good idea to major in psychology and minor in either communication or philosophy What jobs can I get with it with and without going to grad school? And which university is better for it between Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University? ?
I am very interested in psychology. Also, I've been accepted into both the unis and I'm a first gen college student so I wanted to get some extra perspectives from experienced people on which would be a better option though I am leaning more towards MSU for now.
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Updated
Fazal’s Answer
it a good idea to major in psychology and minor in communication or philosophy?
Yes — absolutely, that can be a good idea as long as you understand what you want out of your degree.
Psychology gives you a strong foundation in understanding human behavior, critical thinking, research methods, and social/emotional processes. It’s popular for that reason.
Whether to minor in communication or philosophy depends on what you enjoy and what career path you’re thinking about:
Communication — This pairs very naturally with psychology. It strengthens skills in interpersonal communication, media literacy, public speaking, and organizational communication. If you like helping people, working with teams, counseling, human resources, advertising, or anything involving human interaction — this is very practical.
Philosophy — This builds skills in logic, ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and argumentation. It’s great if you love deep thinking or are considering things like law school, ethics work, policy, or academia.
So both minors add value — one is more practical and career-focused (communication), and the other is more theoretical and thinking-oriented (philosophy). Neither is “wrong.”
What jobs can you get with this combination?
Without graduate school (Bachelor’s only):
Psychology + Communication or Philosophy can prepare you for roles like:
✔ Human Resources assistant
✔ Case manager or support specialist (non-clinical)
✔ Sales or customer relations
✔ Office coordinator or administrative roles
✔ Recruiter or staffing coordinator
✔ Marketing or communications assistant
✔ Behavioral health technician
✔ Community outreach worker
✔ Training and development support
These jobs use skills in people skills, communication, research, critical thinking, and problem-solving — not necessarily therapy or counseling.
With graduate school:
If you want clinical, counseling, or higher-level professional jobs, grad school is often necessary:
🎓 Master’s in Counseling / Clinical Psychology / Social Work:
Licensed therapist
Clinical counselor
School psychologist
Mental health clinician
🎓 Master’s in Communication:
Organizational communication specialist
Corporate trainer
Media strategist
🎓 Law School (Philosophy helps here):
Attorney
Legal analyst
Policy advisor
🎓 Graduate research or academia
So with graduate school, you get specialized and higher-paying roles. Without it, you’re still employable — just usually in broader people-focused or support roles.
Which university is better for this — Michigan State University or Grand Valley State University?
Here’s how they compare in general:
🐾 Michigan State University (MSU)
✔ Larger research university
✔ Bigger psychology department
✔ More academic opportunities (labs, research, internships)
✔ More undergraduate and graduate programs
✔ Often stronger name recognition nationally
➡ Best if you want research experience, competitive internships, or plan to go to graduate school.
🌊 Grand Valley State University (GVSU)
✔ Smaller class sizes
✔ More personal attention from professors
✔ Often stronger in hands-on teaching and community involvement
✔ A very solid psychology program in its own right
➡ Best if you prefer smaller classes, a more supportive environment, and direct faculty access.
So which should you choose?
💡 Choose MSU if:
You want research opportunities
You might go to graduate school
You want more program diversity
💡 Choose GVSU if:
You prefer smaller classes
You want a more community or teaching-focused environment
You want more individualized professor support
Final Summary
✅ Psychology is a good major — versatile and valuable
✅ A communication minor is practical and career-oriented
✅ A philosophy minor enhances deep thinking and logic
✅ With bachelor’s degree — you can work in many people-focused jobs
✅ With grad school — you unlock clinical and advanced professional careers
✅ MSU offers bigger research and graduate opportunities
✅ GVSU offers smaller classes and tighter community support
Yes — absolutely, that can be a good idea as long as you understand what you want out of your degree.
Psychology gives you a strong foundation in understanding human behavior, critical thinking, research methods, and social/emotional processes. It’s popular for that reason.
Whether to minor in communication or philosophy depends on what you enjoy and what career path you’re thinking about:
Communication — This pairs very naturally with psychology. It strengthens skills in interpersonal communication, media literacy, public speaking, and organizational communication. If you like helping people, working with teams, counseling, human resources, advertising, or anything involving human interaction — this is very practical.
Philosophy — This builds skills in logic, ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and argumentation. It’s great if you love deep thinking or are considering things like law school, ethics work, policy, or academia.
So both minors add value — one is more practical and career-focused (communication), and the other is more theoretical and thinking-oriented (philosophy). Neither is “wrong.”
What jobs can you get with this combination?
Without graduate school (Bachelor’s only):
Psychology + Communication or Philosophy can prepare you for roles like:
✔ Human Resources assistant
✔ Case manager or support specialist (non-clinical)
✔ Sales or customer relations
✔ Office coordinator or administrative roles
✔ Recruiter or staffing coordinator
✔ Marketing or communications assistant
✔ Behavioral health technician
✔ Community outreach worker
✔ Training and development support
These jobs use skills in people skills, communication, research, critical thinking, and problem-solving — not necessarily therapy or counseling.
With graduate school:
If you want clinical, counseling, or higher-level professional jobs, grad school is often necessary:
🎓 Master’s in Counseling / Clinical Psychology / Social Work:
Licensed therapist
Clinical counselor
School psychologist
Mental health clinician
🎓 Master’s in Communication:
Organizational communication specialist
Corporate trainer
Media strategist
🎓 Law School (Philosophy helps here):
Attorney
Legal analyst
Policy advisor
🎓 Graduate research or academia
So with graduate school, you get specialized and higher-paying roles. Without it, you’re still employable — just usually in broader people-focused or support roles.
Which university is better for this — Michigan State University or Grand Valley State University?
Here’s how they compare in general:
🐾 Michigan State University (MSU)
✔ Larger research university
✔ Bigger psychology department
✔ More academic opportunities (labs, research, internships)
✔ More undergraduate and graduate programs
✔ Often stronger name recognition nationally
➡ Best if you want research experience, competitive internships, or plan to go to graduate school.
🌊 Grand Valley State University (GVSU)
✔ Smaller class sizes
✔ More personal attention from professors
✔ Often stronger in hands-on teaching and community involvement
✔ A very solid psychology program in its own right
➡ Best if you prefer smaller classes, a more supportive environment, and direct faculty access.
So which should you choose?
💡 Choose MSU if:
You want research opportunities
You might go to graduate school
You want more program diversity
💡 Choose GVSU if:
You prefer smaller classes
You want a more community or teaching-focused environment
You want more individualized professor support
Final Summary
✅ Psychology is a good major — versatile and valuable
✅ A communication minor is practical and career-oriented
✅ A philosophy minor enhances deep thinking and logic
✅ With bachelor’s degree — you can work in many people-focused jobs
✅ With grad school — you unlock clinical and advanced professional careers
✅ MSU offers bigger research and graduate opportunities
✅ GVSU offers smaller classes and tighter community support
Updated
Aisha’s Answer
Hi Kan,
Choosing to major in psychology with a minor in communication or philosophy is a smart move that opens up many career paths. If you pair psychology with communication, you get a strong mix of understanding people and effective communication, which is great for jobs in marketing, public relations, human resources, counseling, and organizational development. On the other hand, a philosophy minor helps you think critically and understand ethics, which is useful for graduate school or careers in research, policy, or clinical work.
With just a bachelor's degree in psychology, you can work as a human resources specialist, market research analyst, case manager, customer success manager, UX researcher, or in administrative roles in healthcare and social services. If you go to graduate school, you can become a licensed therapist, clinical psychologist, industrial-organizational psychologist, research scientist, or academic professor. The communication minor is especially helpful for non-clinical jobs in businesses, while philosophy is great for academic and research roles.
When it comes to choosing a university, both Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University have strong psychology programs but offer different experiences. MSU is a larger school with more resources, diverse internships, and a big alumni network, which can be really helpful for first-generation students like you. GVSU, on the other hand, offers a smaller, more personal learning environment with close faculty relationships and a strong focus on undergraduates.
Since you’re leaning towards MSU, it might be a good fit because of its size and resources, including support programs for first-generation students and many career services. However, consider how comfortable you feel with the campus size and environment. Try to visit both campuses if you can, talk to current students, and make sure you check out their support services, psychology departments, and internship opportunities. Choose the place where you feel you’ll do best both academically and personally.
Choosing to major in psychology with a minor in communication or philosophy is a smart move that opens up many career paths. If you pair psychology with communication, you get a strong mix of understanding people and effective communication, which is great for jobs in marketing, public relations, human resources, counseling, and organizational development. On the other hand, a philosophy minor helps you think critically and understand ethics, which is useful for graduate school or careers in research, policy, or clinical work.
With just a bachelor's degree in psychology, you can work as a human resources specialist, market research analyst, case manager, customer success manager, UX researcher, or in administrative roles in healthcare and social services. If you go to graduate school, you can become a licensed therapist, clinical psychologist, industrial-organizational psychologist, research scientist, or academic professor. The communication minor is especially helpful for non-clinical jobs in businesses, while philosophy is great for academic and research roles.
When it comes to choosing a university, both Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University have strong psychology programs but offer different experiences. MSU is a larger school with more resources, diverse internships, and a big alumni network, which can be really helpful for first-generation students like you. GVSU, on the other hand, offers a smaller, more personal learning environment with close faculty relationships and a strong focus on undergraduates.
Since you’re leaning towards MSU, it might be a good fit because of its size and resources, including support programs for first-generation students and many career services. However, consider how comfortable you feel with the campus size and environment. Try to visit both campuses if you can, talk to current students, and make sure you check out their support services, psychology departments, and internship opportunities. Choose the place where you feel you’ll do best both academically and personally.
Updated
Vianne’s Answer
Psychology is a great major if you're curious about people and how they think and act. Adding a communication minor is perfect if you want to work closely with people in areas like HR, marketing, or counseling. On the other hand, a philosophy minor focuses more on deep thinking and ethics, which is useful for law, research, or grad school. Both options are good; it just depends on whether you prefer practical people skills or exploring big ideas.
With a bachelor's in psychology, you have many options, though you usually can't do therapy or clinical work yet. You can work in case management, recruiting, social services, or business roles where understanding people is important. If you decide to go to grad school later, you'll have more opportunities in counseling or specialized psychology careers. Many psychology majors figure things out as they go, so you don't need to have everything planned right now.
When choosing between Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University, MSU offers more research opportunities, bigger networking circles, and strong name recognition, which is helpful if you're considering grad school. GVSU is smaller and feels more personal, with smaller classes and easy access to professors. If you're leaning towards MSU, that's a good choice, especially as a first-generation student, because it offers lots of resources and options to help you along the way.
With a bachelor's in psychology, you have many options, though you usually can't do therapy or clinical work yet. You can work in case management, recruiting, social services, or business roles where understanding people is important. If you decide to go to grad school later, you'll have more opportunities in counseling or specialized psychology careers. Many psychology majors figure things out as they go, so you don't need to have everything planned right now.
When choosing between Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University, MSU offers more research opportunities, bigger networking circles, and strong name recognition, which is helpful if you're considering grad school. GVSU is smaller and feels more personal, with smaller classes and easy access to professors. If you're leaning towards MSU, that's a good choice, especially as a first-generation student, because it offers lots of resources and options to help you along the way.