Post-Graduation Planning

Choosing your next steps after college is a big decision and can be challenging. This section of the website is designed to help you think about and gather resources for your next step. 

If you are unsure about your next steps, there are pages to help you think about the wide variety of career options that are open to you as a psychology major as well as resources for applying for jobs.

If you are thinking about masters or PhD level careers in psychology or related fields, there are pages that offer advice about choosing the option that is right for you and how to apply.

We hope that you find these resources helpful!

To contact us, email psyadvis@pitt.edu or use drop-in advising. This is the best way to reach us - please avoid emailing individual advisors.

Career Paths for Psych Majors

An undergraduate major in psychology prepares you for multiple different career paths.  At times the choice of career path may feel overwhelming, particularly if you have friends who have very clear career paths or have known what they want to do for a long time. However, for most students the reality is more complex - alumni with psychology degrees go into an extremely wide variety of careers - so wide that there isn’t an easy way to summarize the top couple of career paths! 

Identifying Careers and Finding Jobs

Figuring out what to do after college is challenging and sometimes stressful. On this page we have compiled links to a wide variety of resources to help you out.

Masters Level Careers in Mental Health

One of the most important points we want to convey is that you should not feel like you need to go into one of the ‘standard’ career paths in psychology such as becoming a mental health provider or psychology professor; in reality a minority of psychology majors select these paths. However, this page is designed for those who do want to pursue career paths more closely tied to psychology and in particular doing some sort of counseling, therapy, or social work.

Masters vs. PsyD vs. PhD in Clinical or Counseling Psychology

There are very big differences between these three training routes. One commonality is that they can all lead to a career working directly with patients. However, aside from this commonality they differ widely

PhD in Psychology (or other fields)

If you are interested in becoming a psychology researcher or a university professor in psychology, or in another field, this is the right track for you

Post Baccalaureate Opportunities

See this page for information about post-baccaloreate opportunities for students who have received a Bachelor's degree.