Clinical Psychology

Types of Degrees Clinical Psychology Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	2,956
Doctor’s Degree	2,470
Bachelor’s Degree	289
Graduate Certificate	99
Undergraduate Certificate	7
Associate Degree	1
Basic Certificate	1

What Clinical Psychology Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to clinical psychology were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Clinical Psychology Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in clinical psychology should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.

Skills for Clinical Psychology Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to clinical psychology:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Clinical Psychology Majors

As a clinical psychology major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Clinical Psychology Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with clinical psychology:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clinical Psychologists	14.2%	$76,990
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Psychology Professors	15.1%	$76,710
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology?

This major is dominated by women with about 79% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	61
Black or African American	17
Hispanic or Latino	82
White	82
International Students	26
Other Races/Ethnicities	21

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Clinical Psychology. About 9.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Clinical Psychology

Some careers associated with clinical psychology require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.1%
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)	1.6%
Some College Courses	0.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	35.6%
Master’s Degree	14.7%
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.	1.0%
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	27.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	13.3%

Online Clinical Psychology 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)	2	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	2	0
Bachelor’s Degree	5	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	145	9
Post-Master’s	10	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	92	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	73	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Majors Related to Clinical Psychology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to clinical psychology.

Major	Number of Grads
Counseling Psychology	11,005
Applied Behavior Analysis	6,810
School Psychology	3,646
Industrial & Organizational Psychology	2,785
Forensic Psychology	2,601
Applied Psychology	2,536
Educational Psychology	2,114
Other Psychology & Counseling	638
Community Psychology	544
Health/Medical Psychology	396
Performance and Sport Psychology	210
Clinical Child Psychology	126
Family Psychology	56
Transpersonal/Spiritual Psychology	28
Environmental Psychology	8
Geropsychology	0

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.