The University of Maryland Psychology graduates have been successful in many different fields post-graduation, including human services, government, nonprofit, research, and more. Using information from the annual University of Maryland graduation survey, we have compiled details about PSYC majors, such as their post-graduation adventures. Use this information as a place to start exploring your career interests. Review additional resources below and on the Feller Center's website.
Quick View: Careers and Skills related to PSYC Major
Explore Career Paths
Start Planning
Related Titles & Work Areas
Job Titles:
- Academic Advisor
- Admissions Counselor
- Camp Counselor/ Coordinator
- Consultant
- Elementary School Manager
- Head Aftercare Teacher
- In Home Autism Instructor
- Intensive Early Intervention
- Interpretive Aide
- Lead Preschool Teacher
- Middle School Program Coordinator
- Operations Coordinator
- Para Educator
- Post-baccalaureate Teaching Assistant
- Preschool Teacher
- Program Excellence Associate
- Teaching Assistant
- Youth Development Specialist
Organizations:
- 2U, Inc.
- American Red Cross
- BFits Thailand
- Center For Young Children
- Crisis Text Line
- For Love of Children
- Identity, Inc.
- Ivymount Corporation
- Montgomery County Public Schools
- SAR Academy
- Teach for America
- The George Washington University
- The Goddard School
- The Treatment and Learning Centers
- Trellis Services
- University of Denver
- University of Maryland College Park
- Uplift Education
- Vanguard Children's Academy
ENTRY TIPS:
- Alumni share lessons learned and career advice: School Psychologist, Teaching, School Counseling, and Student Affairs
- Review FirstHand's Career Guide to Education, Education Jobs and Child Care Jobs for industry information and entry tips.
Job Titles:
- Dental Assistant
- Drug Safety Associate
- EMT
- Home Health Aide
- IRTA Fellow
- Lab Manager
- Laboratory Technician
- Medical and Research Assistant
- Medical Scribe
- Mental Health Associate/Technician
- Orthopedic Receptionist
- Pharmacy Technician
- Protege Intern of Recovery and Care
- Public Health Analyst Trainee
Organizations:
- Capital Digestive Care
- Children’s National Health System
- Erickson Living
- Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Maryland Pain and Spine Center
- Mary's Center
- National Community Church
- National Institutes of Health
- Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Baltimore
- ScribeAmerica
- Technical Resources International, Inc.
- Transitions Healthcare LLC
- University of Maryland Medical Center
- Washington Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
ENTRY TIPS:
- Learn more about Careers in Forensic Investigations.
- Review FirstHand's Career Guide to Healthcare Provider Jobs for industry information and entry tips.
- Example resume formats: Health, Science, Other
Job Titles:
- Account Executive/Management
- Analyst
- Associate District Manager
- Brand Associate
- Business Analyst
- Campus Project Specialist
- CASE Fundraising Intern
- Client Service Analyst
- Consultant
- District Manager
- Junior Negotiator
- Legal Assistant
- Loan Officer Assistant
- Management Consulting Analyst
- Marketplace Integrity Agent
- Mathematical Statistician
- Paralegal
- Production Assistant
- Quality Assurance Specialist
- Residential Real Estate Agent
- Sales Associate
- Securities Analyst
- SEO Specialist
- Store Management Executive
- Strategic Operations Analyst
- Travel Specialist
Organizations:
- Accenture
- Aflac
- American Airlines
- APS
- Atlantic Coast Mortgage
- BEYOND20
- Bloomingdales
- BluShark Digital
- Colorado College
- Fiverr
- Gartner
- GEICO
- Hungry Harvest
- IBM
- Korn Ferry
- Mayer Brown LLP
- Morgan Stanley
- Next Step Realty
- Sotheby's
- The Advisory Board
- Unispace
- WeddingWire
- Wells Fargo
Job Titles:
- ABA Therapist/Instructor
- Associate Behavioral Therapist
- Behavior Therapist
- Behavioral Health Technician
- Behavioral Technician
- Community Psychiatric Supportive Therapist
- Intake Coordinator
- Program Aide
- Program Manager
- Registered Behavior Therapist
- Rehab/Recovery Counselor
- Rehabilitation Counselor
- RISE Intern
- Senior Neuropsychology Intern
- Supported Employment Specialist
- Treatment Coordinator
- Therapeutic Mentor
Organizations:
- Advanced Behavioral Health
- Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC
- Behavior Basic
- Cornerstone Montgomery
- Eliada Homes
- Epic Health Services, Inc.
- Ivymount Corporation
- Kennedy Krieger Institute
- Kentlands Psychotherapy
- Little Leaves Behavioral Services
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- National Center of Missing and Exploited Children
- Sheppard Pratt
- Signature Health
- TMS Neuro Solutions, LLC
Learn more about...
Job Titles:
- Corporate Recruiter
- Engagement Associate
- Human Resource Generalist/Analyst
- Human Resources Analyst
- Human Resources Coordinator
- Job Placement Specialist
- Leadership Consultant
- National Recruitment Coordinator
- Recruiter
- Recruiter, Accounting and Finance
- Recruitment Consultant- Microsoft Cloud Technologies
- Staffing Coordinator
- Technical Analyst/Recruiter
Organizations:
- AIG
- Alliant Staffing
- Frank Recruitment Group
- HireStrategy
- Macy’s
- University of Maryland
- Wallace Montgomery & Associates
- YRCI
ENTRY TIPS:
- Application tips from graduate programs in IO, UMD Panel
- Student resources, learn about IO from SIOP
- Review FirstHand's Career Guide to Human Resources for industry information and entry tips.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Research Assistant
- Clinical Study Coordinator
- Environmental Justice Researcher
- Faculty Research Assistant/Staff
- Intramural Research Training Award (Research Assistant Fellow) IRTA
- Lab Manager
- MRI Participant Navigator
- Research and Recruitment
- Coordinator
- Research Assistant
- Research Coordinator/Project
- Manager (Faculty Assistant)
- Research Project Assistant
- Summer Post-Bac, Research
Organizations:
- Behaviors and Experiences
- Child Mind Institute
- Child Trends
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health
- Friends Research Institute
- Georgetown University Medical Center
- Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
- Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience (NIAAA)
- McLean Hospital
- National Institutes of Health
- Neurocognitive Development Lab
- Northwell Health
- UMARC
- UMD Identity Management Lab
Job Titles:
- Legal Assistant
- Legal Practice Assistant
- Litigation/Legislative Paralegal
- Paralegal
- Paralegal Specialist Trainee
- Senior Paralegal
- LEGAL SERVICES: Career options
Organizations:
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLC
- Delany McKinney LLP
- Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP
- Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman
- Jaklitsch Law Group
- Konare Law
- Robert Half Legal
Law (JD)- PSYC Graduates are going to:
Emory University
Florida International University
Syracuse University
University Of Maryland Francis King Carey School Of Law
Villanova University
ENTRY TIPS:
- Important qualities/skills generally include: communication, interpersonal, organizational, research, analytical, speaking, problem solving and writing skills.
- Apply for internships. Gaining experience in the field will test your interest and demonstrate interest to law school programs.
- Review FirstHand's Career Guide to Law for industry information and entry tips.
- Law school/internship/jobs tips & resources
Advice from UMD Alumni:
Start Exploring Career Titles
Use the sample job and internship titles (mentioned above) to start exploring career paths. The links below provide a short overview of the positions. Review more career areas related to this major as well as tips to succeed.
- Review popular career fields that PSYC majors pursue, OOH
- Occupational Outlook Handbook, a career title dictionary
- O*NET Online, the nation's primary source of occupational information
- Career assessment options, FOCUS2, etc
- Terrapins Connect, talk with professionals working in the field through UMD’s alumni network
- Federal positions by major, research career titles with the federal government related to your major
- Career Guides: Vault, browse 100’s of industry guides to gain inside tips
- Leveraging AI for your career exploration
Feller Center offers: Alumni & Employer Industry Panel Notes sample topics below
- Human Resources/IO Psychology: Impacting & Improving the Workplace Panel
- Psychotherapist Career Panel
- Entry Level Career Tracks for Psychology Majors Notes
- How To Become A Psychologist Panel
- Gaining experience/exploring careers in a counseling/helping profession
- Creative Arts Therapy
- Counseling Licensure Panel, Tips from UMD PSYC Alumni
- Careers in Social Work
Resources: Career Planning
Explore career path options with these resources:
- Careers in Psych - Psychology Today
- Careers in Psychology - American Psychological Association (APA)
- Encyclopedia of Psychology - Provides information on career paths, job boards, and graduate school
- Forensic Psychology: Is It the Career for Me? - Psychology Today
- Interesting careers in psychological science, APA - Career options for psychological scientists
- Non-Academic careers in psychology - Career options outside of teaching for PhD candidates
- Non-PSYCH jobs that interest psychology majors
- Psychology careers - Overview of options
- Social Psychology Network - All areas of PSYC
- Choose a counseling area based on your values
- UMD PSYC Department Resources for labs, graduate school prep, etc.
Tuesday, March 3, 2026 | 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Planning for Graduate School
Sample graduate programs UMD PSYC students have attended. Start researching your career path of interest to identify the educational requirements.
- Accredited programs in Counseling- CACREP
- Accredited masters/PhD programs- APA
- Non-Academic Careers for PhDs
- Psychology degree specialties
- Considerations for a graduate degree in clinical psychology
- Clinical Neuropsychology degree and career guide
- IO graduate programs, ranked by students
- Learn about the licensing process: Information by state
Learn from alumni: Review notes from the PSYC Mastering your Master Degree Panel
Application tips from the Feller Center
- Questions to consider before applying
- Application timeline, stay on track with your graduate school application
- Start your Graduate School Application Tracking Document
- Review what PSYC grad programs are most looking for in applications, 2023
- Financial Aid resources for PSYC students
- Fully Funded Master’s Programs in Psychology by ProFellow
Preparing and Applying for Graduate School in Psychology, APA
A free video series to guide students through research, applications, interviews and decisions. This series of 12 videos takes prospective graduate students step-by-step through the preparation, application, interview, and admission processes.
A Master of Counseling
- Designed to give candidates a deeper understanding of human behavior and development.
- Specialize in providing guidance.
- Mental health counseling, school and career counseling, and family counseling are expected to grow 23 percent, 11 percent, and 16 percent, respectively.
- CACREP accredited programs.
A Master of Social Work
- Give students a strong grounding in wider societal problems—such as substance abuse and addiction disorders. Read more.
- Provide therapy and counseling to their clients, they follow different pathways to licensure and different job titles.
- While social workers focus on different capacities of therapy, depending on their licensure.
- Social work careers are projected to grow 12 percent from 2020 to 2030.
- Explore programs in Maryland.
Social workers and counselors both have the opportunity to help others improve their lives, and each career is involved in sustaining the health and wellness of the community at large. Both types of professionals are qualified to offer some form of clinical mental health counseling.
About two thirds of students in competitive PhD programs took a gap year(s) or research based post-bac fellowship.
Common questions answered:
- A PhD program general takes 4 to 7 years.
- A master degree is not required before applying to a PhD program. In fact, many PhD programs include a masters degree.
- The most competitive students describe how they will be a fit with the program (i.e. interest in research, faculty, career goals, etc.).
- GPA is examined as an example of how the applicant studies, writes, research (sometimes grades in stats and research methods are reviewed), etc. If you undergrad GPA doesn't demonstrate your abilities, consider taking one or two grad classes to provide evidence of your abilities.
- Choosing Between the PsyD and PhD Psychology Graduate Degree
Market Skills Developed: PSYC Major
Sample list of skills developed in class by Psychology majors:
- Communication skills
- Content in psychology
- Critical thinking
- Data analysis
- Interpretation
- Research methods
- Scientific approach to solving problems
APA Psychology Major Opens Doors
Skills lead to jobs. Which skills do you possess?
- Careers and Skills related to PSYC Major
- Assess your skills, abilities, interests, and values.
- LinkedIn Learning skill based videos.
Highlight your skills in your application materials.
Gain Experience
Internships are a great way to try out an interest, regardless if they are directly related to your major. Employers tend to favor jobseekers who have had an internship in the field they are hiring for. Also review, 10 Things To Do To Land a Psychology Internship.
Sample internship sites/title
- Advocacy Intern, Consumers Union
- Case Manager Intern, Westchester County Dept. of Community Mental Health
- Clinical Assistant, Kennedy Krieger Institute
- Clinical Experience Intern, KidsPeace
- Family Justice Intern, Montgomery County Family Justice Center
- Forensic Psychology Intern, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Washington, DC
- HR Management Intern, Discovery Communications
- Intern, CoFED
- Intern, Cornerstone
- Intern, Montgomery County State Attorney’s Office
- Intern, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism
- Investigative Intern, DC Public Defender Service
- Laboratory Technician, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
- Media Researcher, Vocus
- MFP Intern, American Psychological Association
- Research Assistant, UMD Psychotherapy Clinic & Research Lab
- Research Intern, Ocean Mammal Institute
- Summer Intern, APA
Sample list of opportunities: Start your search with these tips!
- Handshake- Job and internship openings for off-campus positions for UMD students
- UMD Psychology Blog - Lists current opportunities
- UMD PSYC Internship Directory - Lists places where students have interned in the past
- PSYC Internship Resources- Resource with links to tips
- Keywords to consider in your search
- Internships for undergraduates, APA List
Highlighted options
- UMD National Scholarships Office - Internship opportunities in DC
- Federal government internships - Links to openings and application tips
- Volunteer- Help Center Hotline Counselor @ UMD
- Tips for locating entry level options in health care and student opportunities
Prepare to apply: Tips to customize your resume, cover letter, etc.
- Research option on campus
- APA undergraduate research and internships opportunities
- Clinical Research Internships for Undergraduates - Dr. Lynn Friedman
- UMD Research Centers - potential RA positions
- Research Assistantship - options in PSYC
- Conducting Independent Research - obtain credit for your research
- PSYC E-News Blog - lists current research position openings
- Undergraduate Research Opportunities, APA list
- ProFellow - search for fellowships in a variety of fields; requires a free account to access
- UMD National Scholarships Office - review a listing of opportunities for UMD recent grads & graduate students
- PsychResearchList- independent list of postbac positions (such as lab manager positions or paid research assistantships)
- Looking for a Post-Baccalaureate Position to get some clinical psychology experience before applying to graduate school? The Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology has assembled the most useful links and resources.
- A very popular postbac research program with UMD students is the NIH Postbac Program- Intramural Research Traineeship Award (IRTA) Fellow Program | Gain inside application tips from UMD Alumni
This is a directory of internship sites that provide great industry experience for Psychology Majors. Have questions? Request an internship for credit appointment with Advisor Steve Young.
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The Psychology Research Empowerment Program (PREP) seeks to strengthen the pipeline from first year to Ph.D. for students who are first in their families to attend college.
BSOS Students Gain Experience Through:
Build Connections
After researching career paths, consider talking with people working in your field of interest to gain inside information. The links below provide sample events where you may be able to meet professionals in your field of interest. Use these opportunities to learn more about your field of interest, establish new networking contacts, and informational interviews.
- Career Events for BSOS students
- University Career Center Event Calendar
- Terrapins Connect, is an online platform that allows students’ virtual access to UMD alumni who have volunteered to share industry specific information, conduct resume reviews, etc.
- Use LinkedIn to locate alumni & recruiters
- Intern for a Day, matches students with professionals working in a field of interest to shadow for the day or offer informational interviews
- Get contact information: Employer & Industry notes for BSOS majors
Consider reviewing state and national psychology related associations to access career path information and even attend association sponsored events to network with professionals in your field of interest.
