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What can I do with a degree in psychology?

With an undergraduate degree in psychology, you will be prepared for a variety of careers. Potential careers for psychology majors include:

social and health programs such as early-child, geriatric, or mental health care
various business domains such as management, marketing, or finance
various research capacities such as grant writing, data analysis, or laboratory assistance.

For inspiration on what you can do with a bachelor's degree in Psychology, check out this APA interview series on Careers with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology.

Many undergraduate psychology majors go on to receive master’s or doctoral degrees to increase their career opportunities. The Master of Science degree in General Psychology from UL Lafayette is intended to help students become competitive for admission to doctoral-level training programs in both applied (e.g., clinical, counseling) and experimental (e.g., cognitive, developmental) fields of study in psychology.

Advanced career opportunities requiring graduate work included positions such as:

licensed mental health service provider
researcher
university faculty member
industrial/organizational consultant

Jordan Thibodeaux, B.S. '07, M.S. '11

I am currently a Senior Research Associate with the Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center evaluating social programs and policies serving youth and families across the state of Louisiana and leading the center on research into foster care, parenting, and child wellbeing. I earned a Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from George Mason University (Fairfax, Virginia) in 2016. My independent scholarship has been published in a variety of outlets ranging from Journal of Advanced Academics to Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. The faculty of the UL Lafayette Psychology Department nurtured my early intellectual growth and were instrumental in my motivation to daily impact youth through consequential research.

Michelle Jeanis, B.S. '10, M.S. '12

I earned my doctorate in Criminology from the University of South Florida in summer 2017 and am currently an assistant professor at UL Lafayette in the Criminal Justice department. My dissertation assessed chronic runaway behavior with a feminist criminology theoretical perspective. My research interests center on at-risk youth, missing persons, and crime in the media. I am currently working with national and local organizations (both law enforcement and non-profit) in order to examine the relationship between social media and missing persons cases. I teach courses related to juvenile justice, media and crime, serial killers, and forensic psychology. Psychology and criminal justice are closely intertwined and my educational experience at UL Lafayette greatly shaped my understanding of the relationship between mental health and criminal behavior/victimization.

Emmie Hebert, B.S. '13

I graduated from undergrad at UL Lafayette in 2013 with a major in Psychology. With the help, dedication, and care of the UL professors and instructors, I applied to graduate school right after undergrad and was accepted into the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at the University of Mississippi. I plan to finish this program with a PhD in May 2019. I am currently working under Kelly Wilson, PhD and Kate Kellum, PhD. where I research and practice Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and behavior analysis. While in school, I am a therapist at our Psychological Services Center on campus along with an external placement. While we change placements every year, mine have and will involve either teaching or working with individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities (e.g. autism, Down’s Syndrome) or teaching undergraduate courses at the university. This coming year I will be doing my pre-doctoral internship at the Munroe-Meyer Institute in Behavioral Pediatrics. After graduate school I hope to continue some form of clinical work in applied behavior analysis along with some form of academic position in the same area.

Philip Richard, B.S. '14

I am currently a School Psychology Ph.D student at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My daily routine is a mixture of public school consultation, implementation of applied behavior analysis methods for children with autism, and general coursework. The Department of Psychology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has done a tremendous job providing me with the academic foundation that I needed to succeed in graduate school. Every faculty member and graduate student is extremely supportive, passionate, and hardworking. I am immensely thankful for the academic and research opportunities that the UL Lafayette Department of Psychology made available to me during my undergraduate career.

Shiloh Eastin, B.S. '13, M.S. '15

My favorite thing about UL Lafayette was the relationships I was able to build, not only with other students, but also with professors who took an active role in my professional growth. During my time at UL Lafayette and with the Psychology Department, I was more than adequately prepared to engage with the field of Psychology as a clinical professional and a scientist, and my strong foundation at UL Lafayette led me to becoming accepted into Kean University's combined Clinical and School PsyD program. I have now completed my doctoral degree and am working as a perinatal psychologist at Children's National Hospital.