Psychology
Dalhousie University's Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is the most distinguished in the Atlantic provinces, offering majors in both Neuroscience and Psychology with courses taught by award-winning faculty. Complete your undergraduate degree as a major, or consider completing an honours degree and/or earning one or more certificates if certain courses are taken as part of the program.
Your major map: Psychology
The Psychology Major Map highlights academic and co-curricular opportunities and provides an overview of how students can optimize their degree. Students are encouraged to connect with advising supports at Dalhousie and use the Academic Calendar and Timetable to create their course plan.
Where your degree can take you
A BSc or BA degree in psychology provides great preparation for a variety of careers. The skills and knowledge acquired through this program can be applied, but are not limited to, career paths in:
Counselling, labour relations, social and community services, speech pathology, audiology, technical writing, corrections, probation, marketing and public relations, gerontology, health services, and mental health.
A bachelor's degree in psychology is often an important first step towards other professional careers such as education, social work, medicine, law, and management.
Students who wish to pursue psychology as a career will need to complete a PhD, or a Master's degree (MA or MSc) at minimum, in order to become a practicing psychologist.
Core competencies gained
Discipline-level skills:
- An understanding of the various sub-disciplines in psychology, major theories, and the history
- Experience with psychological research methods such as data collection and analysis
- An understanding of the physiological, emotional, cognitive, and social determinants of behavior
- Knowledge of research ethics
Transferable skills:
- Academic writing and presentation skills
- Critical thinking and analytical skills
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Time management
- Leadership and teamwork
- Basic statistical analyses
- Research skills
Possible careers and employment
Psychology Alumni can be employed within a variety of industries and have multiple career path options. These are influenced by the student's elective courses, experiential learning choices, and certificates. Some of the options below will typically require graduate-level training*, while some can be pursued following the completion of baccalaureate program only.
- Counsellor*
- Psychologist*
- Occupational therapist*
- Child and youth worker
- Community worker
- Case manager
- Clinical coordinator
- Researcher*
- Teacher/professor*
- Social worker*
- Advertising
- Addictions counsellor*
- Correctional officer
- Career counsellor*
- Customs agent
- Program coordinator
- Psychiatric aide
- Recreation specialist
- Mental health worker
- Professional consultant
