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Psychology? When you hear this word, the average person thinks of a couch and a therapist who armed with a notepad penetrates the souls of his patients. But there are far more aspects than this, influenced by Sigmund Freud, idea of ​​psychoanalysis. Psychologists do not just examine and treat the psyche and behavior of individual people. They are also interested in how groups work, how employees can be motivated or how people behave in traffic. Your statements are based less on Freudian theories than on empirical surveys.

The subject of psychology

Studying psychology is much more than training to become a “shrink”. The subject belongs to the field of social sciences and the areas of interest and research areas go in many directions. Above all, they are found wherever human behavior plays a role.

Bachelor of Psychology

According to existingcountries.com, the bachelor’s degree usually deals with the basics of general psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology and personality psychology. The students learn how emotions arise or the memory works , which stages of development people go through and why different people react differently to certain situations. In answering these questions, biological psychology has become increasingly important in recent years . She studies how hormones affect us or how the human brain works. The students also learn to carry out studies and experiments correctly and attend seminars on topics such as diagnostics and statistics .

In the higher semesters, the so-called “application subjects” are added. Clinical psychology, for example, deals with the development and treatment of mental illnesses. In work and organizational psychology, the main focus is on optimizing work processes. The universities offer different specializations , such as educational psychology, media psychology or sports psychology. In internships and research groups, students learn to apply what they have learned in practice.

Master in Psychology

Only those who have at least a master’s degree may call themselves a “psychologist”. Most students therefore follow a bachelor’s degree with a master’s degree . In doing so, they commit themselves to one of the application subjects listed above. In addition, highly specialized courses have emerged in recent years and new ones are added regularly. This includes, for example, the Human Factors Master of Science , which focuses on the interaction between humans and machines.

Requirements

More than 50 universities offer the classic subject of psychology. Many universities of applied sciences also offer special courses such as business psychology or school psychology. Almost all courses have strict admission restrictions. Since the number of applicants has been significantly higher than the number of study places for years, the NC is particularly high.

In most cases, the universities expect an Abitur grade in the one range. Some universities carry out additional selection procedures in the form of interviews or tests. Anyone who has completed a voluntary service or an internship in relevant areas increases their chances of getting a place at university. Some universities make it possible to study psychology without a high school diploma or advanced technical college entrance qualification . Condition: The applicant can have several years of professional experience relevant to the subject.

If you intend to study psychology, ideally not only have an interest in the human psyche, but also in the natural sciences . The mathematical-statistical part of the course should not be underestimated . In addition, a good command of English is recommended, as some of the specialist literature is only available in English.

Occupational fields

The cliché mentioned at the beginning of the psychologist and his couch is outdated, but the majority of all graduates later work in the health service. Many are employed in counseling centers, clinics or nursing homes or work in their own practice, where they treat patients with mental illness. Anyone who wants to work as a “psychological psychotherapist” still has a long way to go after completing their studies : Only after three years of full-time therapy training or after five to seven years of part-time training is it possible to qualify as a state-recognized ( r ) to work as a psychotherapist .

Another classic job description is that of the police psychologist . He creates perpetrator profiles and is responsible for the psychological support of civil servants. Emergency psychologists look after disaster and accident victims, while traffic psychologists primarily investigate the causes of accidents.

Relatively new fields of activity are those of industrial and organizational psychologists . They work in the service of federal and state administrations, employment offices or large companies, where they research work motivations or select staff, for example. More and more trained school psychologists are also working in schools .

Psychologists also research and work in the fields of politics , sport, leisure and the environment . The aim here is to motivate competitive athletes or to raise environmental awareness. Master’s graduates in particular also have the opportunity to go into university research and teaching .

As a budding psychologist, it can be very rewarding for you to spend one or more semesters of your studies abroad . In this way you gain insights into other teaching content and research focuses . In addition to acquiring or perfecting a foreign language, important soft skills such as intercultural competence and flexibility will look good on your CV. During your time abroad, you will learn to communicate across cultural differences and to make contacts in a short period of time.