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Getting a Ph.D. in Psychology

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

Verywell / Evan Polenghi

Ph.D. vs. Psy.D.

Job opportunities, earning a degree, specialty areas, alternatives.

Getting a Ph.D. in psychology can open up a whole new world of career opportunities. For many careers paths in psychology-related career paths, a doctoral degree is necessary to obtain work and certification. A Ph.D. is one option, but it is not the only educational path that's available to reach some of these goals.

A Ph.D., or doctor of philosophy, is one of the highest level degrees you can earn in the field of psychology . If you're considering pursuing a graduate degree, you might be wondering how long it takes to earn a Ph.D. in psychology . Generally, a bachelor's degree takes four years of study. While a master's degree requires an additional two to three years of study beyond the bachelor's, a doctoral degree can take between four to six years of additional graduate study after earning your bachelor's degree.

Recently, a new degree option known as the Psy.D. , or doctor of psychology, has grown in popularity as an alternative to the Ph.D. The type of degree you decide to pursue depends on a variety of factors, including your own interests and your career aspirations.

Before deciding which is right for you, research your options and decide if graduate school in psychology is even the best choice for you. Depending on your career goals, you might need to earn a master's or doctoral degree in psychology in order to practice in your chosen field. In other instances, a degree in a similar subject such as counseling or social work may be more appropriate.

A doctorate in psychology is required if you want to open your own private practice.

If you want to become a licensed psychologist, you must earn either a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. in clinical or counseling psychology.

In most cases, you will also need a doctorate if you want to teach and conduct research at the college or university level. While there are some opportunities available for people with a master's degree in various specialty fields, such as industrial-organizational psychology and health psychology , those with a doctorate will generally find higher pay, greater job demand, and more opportunity for growth.

In order to earn a Ph.D. in psychology, you need to first begin by earning your bachelor's degree. While earning your undergraduate degree in psychology can be helpful, students with bachelor's degrees in other subjects can also apply their knowledge to psychology Ph.D. programs . Some students in doctorate programs may have a master's degree in psychology , but most doctorate programs do not require it.

After you’ve been admitted to a graduate program, it generally takes at least four years to earn a Ph.D. and another year to complete an internship. Once these requirements have been fulfilled, you can take state and national exams to become licensed to practice psychology in the state where you wish to work.

Once you enter the graduate level of psychology, you will need to choose an area of specialization, such as clinical psychology , counseling psychology, health psychology, or cognitive psychology . The American Psychological Association (APA) accredits graduate programs in three areas: clinical, counseling, and school psychology.   If you are interested in going into one of these specialty areas, it's important to choose a school that has received accreditation through the APA.

For many students, the choice may come down to a clinical psychology program versus a counseling psychology program. There are many similarities between these two Ph.D. options, but there are important distinctions that students should consider. Clinical programs may have more of a research focus while counseling programs tend to focus more on professional practice. The path you choose will depend largely on what you plan to do after you complete your degree.

Of course, the Ph.D. in psychology is not the only graduate degree option. The Psy.D. is a doctorate degree option that you might also want to consider. While there are many similarities between these two degrees, traditional Ph.D. programs tend to be more research-oriented while Psy.D. programs are often more practice-oriented.

The Ph.D. option may be your top choice if you want to mix professional practice with teaching and research, while the Psy.D. option may be preferred if you want to open your own private psychology practice.

In the book "An Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology," authors John C. Norcross and Michael A. Sayette suggest that one of the key differences between the two-degree options is that the Ph.D. programs train producers of research while Psy.D. programs train consumers of research. However, professional opportunities for practice are very similar with both degree types.

Research suggests that there are few discernible differences in terms of professional recognition, employment opportunities, or clinical skills between students trained in the Ph.D. or Psy.D. models. One of the few differences is that those with a Ph.D. degree are far more likely to be employed in academic settings and medical schools.

Social work, counseling, education, and the health sciences are other graduate options that you may want to consider if you decide that a doctorate degree is not the best fit for your interests and career goals.

A Word From Verywell

If you are considering a Ph.D. in psychology, spend some time carefully researching your options and thinking about your future goals. A doctoral degree is a major commitment of time, resources, and effort, so it is worth it to take time to consider the right option for your goals. The Ph.D. in psychology can be a great choice if you are interested in being a scientist-practitioner in the field and want to combine doing research with professional practice. It's also great training if you're interested in working at a university where you would teach classes and conduct research on psychological topics.

University of Pennsylvania; School of Arts and Sciences. Information for applicants .

American Psychological Association. Doctoral degrees in psychology: How are they different, or not so different?

U.S. Department of Labor.  Psychologists . Occupational Outlook Handbook .

Norcross JC, Sayette MA. An Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology (2020/2021 ed.) . New York, NY: The Guilford Press; 2020.

Davis SF, Giordano PJ, Licht CA. Your Career in Psychology: Putting Your Graduate Degree to Work . John Wiley & Sons; 2012. doi:10.1002/9781444315929

US Department of Education. Bachelor's, master's, and doctor's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by sex of student and discipline division: 2016-17 .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Which psychology field is right for me?

May 15, 2024

Reading time: 4 minutes

Are you interested in using theory, analysis and evidence-based approaches to understand how people think, learn, develop and behave and to help them thrive? If you want to explore new ways to make a difference, the options for discovering your professional path in psychology may seem endless – and you may have found that you need advanced knowledge and skills to take the next step.

What skills can I develop with a psychology degree?

The specific skills that can be useful in the field of psychology will vary depending on the area of study you pursue and your degree level. Some of the broad skills that are important to develop include:

• Communication: Strong communication skills are an asset for helping individuals, groups or organizations, conveying research findings or working with colleagues.
• Ethical awareness: You may be required to handle sensitive information, which means respecting confidentiality.
• Analysis and critical thinking: When you conduct research or work with your stakeholders, you should be able to interpret data and understand how to apply what you know to different situations.
• Patience: Making progress toward specific goals takes time, whether it’s discussing solutions with a patient or conducting research on a study.
• Empathy and active listening: Understanding and recognizing the feelings of others starts with giving your full attention and knowing how to recognize verbal and nonverbal cues.
• Inclusivity: Recognizing the diverse perspectives of people and their communities and examining your own biases can help you adapt your approach to different needs.

Which area of psychology is right for me?

As you explore areas of psychology, these questions may help you figure out your interests:

• Who do you want to help?
• Are you more interested in clinical or applied areas of psychology?
• What issues do you want to focus on?

Your answers to these questions can help you find paths to explore, including degree options that could help you pursue your professional goals. You will need to conduct your own research to understand what opportunities may be available to you. Note that some professional paths may require you to have previous experience, licensure,* certifications or other designations along with a degree.

While Capella cannot guarantee that a graduate will secure any specific career outcome – such as a job title, promotion, salary increase or other career outcome – we encourage you to research requirements for your job target and career goals.

*It is important to understand all educational and individual requirements for licensing. Capella University cannot guarantee licensure, certification or endorsement. State regulations vary regarding professional licensure. It is your responsibility to understand and comply with requirements for your state.

What can you do with a psychology degree?

Based on where your interests lie, explore some fields of psychology and degree options offered by Capella.

Clinical psychology:  Study human behavior and help people build wellness and emotional resilience.

• BS in Psychology Pre-Counseling & Therapy
• MS in Clinical Psychology
• PsyD in Clinical Psychology

Behavioral health:  Treat populations in distress to improve emotional, social and mental health.

• BS in Psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis
• MS in Applied Behavioral Analysis
• PhD in Behavior Analysis

Developmental psychology:  Promote positive development, social growth and emotional changes throughout all stages of life.

• MS in Psychology, Child & Adolescent Development
• PhD in Psychology, Developmental Psychology

Educational psychology: Study how people learn and retain knowledge.

• MS in Psychology, Educational Psychology
• PhD in Psychology, Educational Psychology

School psychology:  Apply principles of educational and developmental psychology to meet behavior and educational needs in a learning environment.

• MS in School Psychology
• EdS in School Psychology
• PsyD in School Psychology

Industrial/organizational psychology:  Support leaders and organizations through an understanding of human behavior to help create efficiencies and advance team performance.

• MS in Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• PhD in Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology  

Learn more about Capella’s  bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral psychology programs and graduate certificates.

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The difference between school counselors and school psychologists

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Get started on your journey now by connecting with an enrollment counselor. See how Capella may be a good fit for you, and start the application process.

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More From Forbes

A surprising psychological hack.

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What is a surprising psychological hack? originally appeared on Quora : the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Dr. Abbie Maroño, PhD in Psychology and Behavior Analysis, on Quora :

Human psychology is a fascinating field, offering insights that allow us to dive into the mind of others. However, the media is inundated with clickbait headlines claiming "psychology says” followed by unfounded and unsupported claims. Such claims rarely capture the true essence of psychological research and are often outrageously misleading. Putting those to the side, I think that the psychological ‘hacks’ based on empirical research are far more interesting.

One of the most intriguing aspects of psychology to me is embodied cognition, a concept that reveals our profound connection with our environment. This idea suggests that physical experiences can significantly influence our social interactions and perceptions. A fascinating example of this is how physical temperature can affect our feelings of interpersonal warmth or coldness.

Consider this: research has shown that participants who held a warm cup of coffee perceived a hypothetical person as having a warmer personality than those who held a cold beverage. This simple experiment underscores how sensory experiences, like temperature, can unconsciously shape our judgments about others. The theory behind this phenomenon suggests that the concepts of physical and social warmth are linked.

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Further studies have expanded on this initial finding. For instance, it has been observed that individuals in warmer rooms are more likely to choose gifts for friends over gifts for themselves, indicating that physical warmth can encourage generosity and prosocial behavior. These behaviors are not just random; they are deeply embedded in our neurology.

Researchers have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study brain activity in individuals experiencing social warmth (through receiving supportive messages) and physical warmth (by holding a warm object). The results were fascinating, showing overlapping activity in the ventral striatum, an area known for its role in reward processing. This overlap suggests that our brains might not distinctly differentiate between physical and social stimuli—both types of warmth trigger similar neural circuits associated with pleasure and reward.

These findings highlight that the sensation of warmth is more than just a physical feeling—it also engages our social and emotional processes. Understanding embodied cognition opens up new perspectives on how we interact with the world and each other. It reminds us that our minds are not isolated from our physical experiences but are intimately woven together, influencing how we perceive and engage with others around us. This insight is more than just a 'hack'; it's a profound testament to the complexity and interconnectedness of human nature.

This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

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Marquette Graduate School launches Applied Psychology Data Analytics program

May 15, 2024

Applications for the program are now open and available online .

The purpose of the Applied Psychology Data Analytics program will be to combine analytical skills with a deep understanding of human behavior to drive meaningful change in the world.

“We are excited about our new graduate program offering in Applied Psychology Data Analytics,” said Dr. Scott D’Urso, acting vice provost for graduate and professional studies and dean of the Graduate School. “This unique master’s degree program will leverage the use of big data and advanced statistical techniques to give graduates a professional edge in applying their psychology degree to jobs in a wide variety of fields, including health care, business, education social media.”

This program will teach students to conduct, evaluate and communicate high-quality research using datasets to help organizations better understand challenges they confront, address important issues and promote positive social change. Students will engage in interdisciplinary coursework between the Psychology and Computer Science departments and will earn a data science certificate upon completion of the program. This program will provide hands-on experience allowing students to work with community organizations to apply psychological principles to real-world problems by using data. Community placements will take place in a student’s last year in the program.

Marquette undergraduate students can enter Applied Psychology Data Analytics Accelerated Degree Program during their junior year and earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in as few as five years.

About Marquette University

Marquette University is a Catholic, Jesuit university located near the heart of downtown Milwaukee that offers a comprehensive range of majors in 11 nationally and internationally recognized colleges and schools. Through the formation of hearts and minds, Marquette prepares our 11,100 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional students to lead, excel and serve as agents of positive change. And, we deliver results. Ranked in the top 20% of national universities, Marquette is recognized for its undergraduate teaching, innovation and career preparation as the sixth-best university in the country for job placement. Our focus on student success and immersive, personalized learning experiences encourages students to think critically and engage with the world around them. When students graduate with a Marquette degree, they are truly prepared and called to Be The Difference.

About Kevin Conway

Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or [email protected] . 

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Emma Seppälä Has Thoughts on How to Avoid Kneejerk Decisions

The psychologist studies how to recognize emotions and cope with them. She learned the hard way.

By Matt Richtel

When it comes to your brain, who’s in charge: you, or the onslaught of incoming stimulation? In “Sovereign: Reclaim Your Freedom, Energy, and Power in a Time of Distraction, Uncertainty and Chaos,” Emma Seppälä , a psychologist with academic postings at Yale and Stanford, argues that modernity has forced the human brain into a highly reactive mode, effectively hijacking it with nonstop information and noise.

To soothe ourselves, Dr. Seppälä says, we mindlessly adopt an array of coping mechanisms, some of which are self-destructive, from excessive eating and alcohol intake to angry outbursts and social withdrawal. But there are ways to interrupt our kneejerk reactions and cope more thoughtfully, Dr. Seppälä argues. She spoke to The New York Times about her work and the science of resilience. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

In the book, you describe a formative experience in college involving your relationship to food. What happened?

Starting at the age of about 16 or 17, I developed an eating disorder. I would binge-eat when I was feeling low, and then I would feel worse. It was an addictive habit, a compulsion.

In college, in 1996, I went to a meditation session. It was Korean Zen, strict: You stared at the carpet for an hour with little to no instruction. I thought, I’m never ever doing this again.

But I felt peaceful afterward. Then, the next day, I felt down again. There was an old leftover pizza in the dorm room. It wasn’t even a kind I liked; it was gross. But I had this impulse to binge, because that’s what I did when I felt bad. And suddenly a light went off in my head and I thought: I always cry after I binge, and that makes me feel a little better, so why don’t I cry first? In that moment I thought, OK, I’ll cry and then I’ll binge all I want.

But when I was done crying, I no longer needed to binge, and I never binged again.

What did you think went on in that moment?

During the meditation? I had no idea; I was just waiting for it to be over. In that moment, I did not realize anything except that I felt calmer afterward. But it was the next day that I realized that the meditation had opened a space of awareness and insight in my mind that was not there before.

You make the case now that this wasn’t a one-off, or happenstance, but that there is science behind your experience.

There’s quite a good body of research now on the neuroscience of meditation, showing that it improves self-awareness, emotion regulation, self-control and many other things. Most people, if they’re honest with themselves, reach for some kind of coping habit when they are feeling stressed or down. Think food, alcohol, doomscrolling, entertainment, shopping, even overworking and overexercising. Most adults have never received formal education about what to do with negative emotions.

Addiction is not just about substance use. It’s about trying to avoid a feeling. It’s about trying to escape. You know it’s not good for you, but you do it anyway because you don’t like the current state that you’re in, whether it’s feeling pain, sorrow, loss or shame.

Why? Because your compulsion in that moment is stronger than your awareness. You’re thinking short-term, because the primitive areas of your brain hijack your ability to discern and be aware of the bigger picture of what’s good for you. You’re hyperfocused on relief from whatever you are experiencing, and impulsive to change it.

That hijacking occurs because the parts of the brain that serve decision-making and self-control — like the prefrontal cortex — often don’t work properly in the heat of the moment. This allows the more ancient brain areas that we share with our evolutionary ancestors (like rodents) to rule the mind. These areas, such as the amygdala, give quick, unrefined signals about potential threats and rewards. They are important for our immediate survival but can make wrong decisions without the prefrontal cortex giving us the bigger picture about what’s good for us in the long run.

Research shows that, when you meditate, you are strengthening that neural pathway for self-awareness. You’re expanding your ability to have awareness of, and therefore control over, your own emotions, without falling prey to compulsive behaviors. Meditation, because it cultivates self-awareness, allows you to gain perspective and thereby naturally gain self-control.

The main title of your book is “Sovereign.” I tend to think of sovereignty as it involves a nation-state. How do you mean it in this case?

Given the chaos of the past few years, starting with the pandemic, I wanted to share the science of how to be resilient regardless of what life brings, and how to stay true to yourself and intentional regardless of outside influences.

In many cases, we are embroiled with behaviors, emotions and thought patterns that are self-destructive and we’re not even aware of it. It’s especially important now, when there is so much coming at us — social media, marketing, negative news cycles, global threats — that there’s no awareness of being anxious and overwhelmed. The running theme of “Sovereign” is cultivating awareness so we’re not succumbing to reactivity, a programmed response and destructive behaviors but living the lives we want.

What tactics aside from meditation do you suggest people use to clear their minds?

A few key tactics are spending time in nature, which research shows not only significantly benefits our mental health but also our ability to think clearly and creatively. Spending time unplugging from our devices and media sources. Making time for periods of silence during the day or week. Breathing practices that our research has found significantly reduce trauma while cultivating the nervous system for greater calm. Sleep and exercise are a given.

Matt Richtel is a health and science reporter for The Times, based in Boulder, Colo. More about Matt Richtel

Managing Anxiety and Stress

Stay balanced in the face of stress and anxiety with our collection of tools and advice..

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These simple and proven strategies will help you manage stress , support your mental health and find meaning in the new year.

First, bring calm and clarity into your life with these 10 tips . Next, identify what you are dealing with: Is it worry, anxiety or stress ?

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I just wanna know...psychology phd F22

By samnarv January 9, 2022 in Psychology Forum

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Found out last night that I didn't get an interview for my top choice school....because i checked the program's website. I wish these schools would say when theyre sending interview invites etc. Or send out rejections at every stage. I hate waiting without knowing. If anyone has heard from Yale psychology (not clinical), University of Maryland clinical psychology, university of maryland neuroscience, upenn psychology, princeton psychology or cuny graduate center cognitive and behavioral neuroscience please let me know so i wont suffer of anxiety 

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On 1/9/2022 at 12:28 AM, samnarv said: Found out last night that I didn't get an interview for my top choice school....because i checked the program's website. I wish these schools would say when theyre sending interview invites etc. Or send out rejections at every stage. I hate waiting without knowing. If anyone has heard from Yale psychology (not clinical), University of Maryland clinical psychology, university of maryland neuroscience, upenn psychology, princeton psychology or cuny graduate center cognitive and behavioral neuroscience please let me know so i wont suffer of anxiety 

Not to encourage your anxiety or anything, but most schools send out a couple rounds of interview invites, and invitations have been known to go out as late as February or even March - plus waitlisted candidates have to hang in until after the April decision date.  It is still way too early in the process to be worrying -  I know here at my uni, the profs are only this week getting together to review applicants and make decisions about who will be offered an interview first. 

Even if someone else has already gotten an interview, it does not mean that all invites have gone out from the program, so please do not base your feelings and decisions on what someone else claims to have received, there is still a long way to go. Until you get a rejection letter, you can consider yourself in the running

SoundofSilence

On 1/9/2022 at 1:28 AM, samnarv said: Found out last night that I didn't get an interview for my top choice school....because i checked the program's website. I wish these schools would say when theyre sending interview invites etc. Or send out rejections at every stage. I hate waiting without knowing. If anyone has heard from Yale psychology (not clinical), University of Maryland clinical psychology, university of maryland neuroscience, upenn psychology, princeton psychology or cuny graduate center cognitive and behavioral neuroscience please let me know so i wont suffer of anxiety 

I can definitely relate, most of us are in the same boat. This is my third time, and I am still impatient and have days where I keep refreshing my email for too long. 

The thing is, programs like to keep applicants on hold because you never know what might happen. I just heard a story about this last week from a faculty member currently interviewing - they had a candidate that they felt were a great match, they interviewed them and then realized that it won't be working out after all. So now they have to do more interviews after the program's initial round of interviews. Some programs might do additional rounds of interviews to fill out more spots if they found more funding or if the applicants chose a different offer. There are quite a few people who get in from waitlists. You get the idea, the process is pretty unpredictable. However, you also must realize that usually these are more rare events. If you find out some of your programs already had several interviews with applicants, I would put that program on the backburner and focus on the rest of them. 

I agree with you that it would be better if we had more transparency in the process. A few programs give candidates at least an estimate of when they might hear back (the deadline is X and we interview initially in Y month) and I think all should follow this, like they do with the offer deadline. If I manage to get an acceptance this application season, I am definitely committed to advocating for more transparency and change as a grad student and beyond.

T.O.hopeful

16 minutes ago, SoundofSilence said: I agree with you that it would be better if we had more transparency in the process. A few programs give candidates at least an estimate of when they might hear back (the deadline is X and we interview initially in Y month) and I think all should follow this, like they do with the offer deadline. If I manage to get an acceptance this application season, I am definitely committed to advocating for more transparency and change as a grad student and beyond.

I echo this last point here ! I applied to primarily Canadian programs with the exception of one American clin psych program. And for that US school, right after the application deadline, a generic email was sent to all applicants with a timeline of when interview invites would be sent out, when interviews would be held, and when the first round of admission offers would be sent. This reduces so much anxiety because now i know if I hear nothing the week interview invites get sent, then i can focus my attention towards other schools. I know it can be challenging when a lot of applications get submitted but I wish all programs could operate with this kind of transparency! 

44 minutes ago, T.O.hopeful said: I echo this last point here ! I applied to primarily Canadian programs with the exception of one American clin psych program. And for that US school, right after the application deadline, a generic email was sent to all applicants with a timeline of when interview invites would be sent out, when interviews would be held, and when the first round of admission offers would be sent. This reduces so much anxiety because now i know if I hear nothing the week interview invites get sent, then i can focus my attention towards other schools. I know it can be challenging when a lot of applications get submitted but I wish all programs could operate with this kind of transparency! 

Yes, definitely we need to advocate for more transparency in the process. I don't think it would compromise the general application process in any way, and it would provide some structure and peace of mind to applicants. 

uninvitedColumbus

On 1/9/2022 at 10:58 AM, samnarv said: Found out last night that I didn't get an interview for my top choice school....because i checked the program's website. I wish these schools would say when theyre sending interview invites etc. Or send out rejections at every stage. I hate waiting without knowing. If anyone has heard from Yale psychology (not clinical), University of Maryland clinical psychology, university of maryland neuroscience, upenn psychology, princeton psychology or cuny graduate center cognitive and behavioral neuroscience please let me know so i wont suffer of anxiety 

A prof at Princeton psych told me all interview invites have been sent out already. 

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