Focus on Skills
Students will, during their time as undergraduates at Edinburgh, gain a number of specific transferable skills which are highly desirable assets from an employer's point of view.
Our courses in the department will help students to build on some of these skills whilst others could be gained via the services available within the University. Even though plenty of opportunities will be offered to master these skills, it is important to understand that learning is an active process and that ultimately, the student is the master of their own learning.
The following list describes those skills which all students graduating from Edinburgh should possess. Undergraduates are given opportunities (through formal teaching or otherwise) to develop skills in these categories:
- Intellectual Skills (e.g. critical, analytical, synthesising and problem-solving skills)
- Communication Skills (written and oral)
- Organisational Skills (e.g. working independently, taking initiative, time-management)
- Interpersonal Skills ( e.g. working with or motivating others, flexibility/adaptability)
- Research Skills (e.g. involvement in experiments both as participants and as investigators)
- Numeracy & Statistics (e.g. statistical skills, data handling)
- Computer Literacy (e.g. engaging with technological tools to enhance teaching and learning; e-learning is a key tool)
- Foreign Language Skills (e.g. programmes are available for students to do a year abroad)
What can I do after my degree? Careers in Psychology
Psychology, because of its unique combination of both scientific and humanistic approaches, equips you for a wide range of careers. Our graduates are employed in media and advertising, law and medicine, in commerce, in sports, and as government ministers. If your aim is to make a professional career in Psychology, you should understand that this will generally require further study. About a quarter of our graduates go on to take postgraduate degrees.
For research in the various branches of Psychology, students go on to an MSc and/or PhD (DPhil), which requires independent, but supervised, research at Edinburgh or another university. They may then develop a research career in universities, or in applied laboratories in government agencies or industrial companies and consultancies.
Clinical Psychology is a popular option, with good career prospects. It requires a three-year period of postgraduate training (DClinPsy) which is usually preceded by gaining some practical experience in a job related to mental health.
Educational and Occupational Psychology are other fields with their own postgraduate training requirements. There are also careers which, although not strictly Psychology, are closely related and benefit from psychological training: for example personnel, probation, and social work.
You should realise, however, psychology degrees give you a general training in systematic analysis of questions about human beings, including numeracy, literacy, and IT skills (see transferable skills section). As such, they are widely regarded as excellent training for a very wide range of careers in commerce, government, industry, media, and the professions.