Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics

Types of Degrees Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many cognitive psychology & psycholinguistics graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	231
Master’s Degree	49
Doctor’s Degree	24
Graduate Certificate	12

What Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics Majors

Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Skills for Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics Majors

When studying cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics Majors

As you progress with your cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Neuropsychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologists	10.3%	$100,770
Psychology Professors	15.1%	$76,710
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics?

The major attracts more women than men. About 76% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	54
Black or African American	14
Hispanic or Latino	46
White	68
International Students	22
Other Races/Ethnicities	27

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics, too. About 9.5% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics

Some careers associated with cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.7%
Some College Courses	0.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	36.6%
Master’s Degree	20.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.6%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.0%
Doctoral Degree	12.3%
Post-Doctoral Training	21.7%

Online Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	2	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	11	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	13	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics.

Major	Number of Grads
Other Research & Experimental Psychology	13,458
Experimental Psychology	4,342
Developmental & Child Psychology	1,929
Behavioral Neuroscience	1,427
Social Psychology	531
Psychometrics & Quantitative Psychology	105
Psychopharmacology	34
Personality Psychology	21
Comparative Psychology	16

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.