Counseling Psychology

Types of Degrees Counseling Psychology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many counseling 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	9,589
Doctor’s Degree	667
Bachelor’s Degree	393
Graduate Certificate	322
Basic Certificate	22
Undergraduate Certificate	10
Associate Degree	2

What Counseling Psychology Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to counseling 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 Counseling Psychology Majors

Counseling Psychology 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.
• 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 Counseling Psychology Majors

When studying counseling psychology, 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:

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

Abilities for Counseling Psychology Majors

Counseling Psychology majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 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 Counseling Psychology Major?

People with a counseling psychology degree often go into the following careers:

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

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

The major attracts more women than men. About 81% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	7
Black or African American	38
Hispanic or Latino	44
White	260
International Students	8
Other Races/Ethnicities	36

Geographic Diversity

Counseling Psychology appeals to people across the globe. About 2.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Counseling Psychology

Some careers associated with counseling psychology 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for counseling psychology careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.0%
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)	1.5%
Some College Courses	0.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	34.3%
Master’s Degree	16.9%
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.	0.9%
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.	2.7%
Doctoral Degree	21.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	17.4%

Online Counseling 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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	2	1
Bachelor’s Degree	32	7
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	248	39
Post-Master’s	33	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	65	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	14	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Majors Related to Counseling Psychology

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

Major	Number of Grads
Applied Behavior Analysis	6,810
Clinical Psychology	5,823
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.