A psychology-related master's degree can be excellent preparation for a wide range of careers. Some students choose programs that lead to careers as counselors or social workers. Other programs prepare students to apply psychological principles to the business environment or the criminal justice field. Still others prepare students for careers in academia as professors or researchers.
Which path you take depends upon your personal interests, but it's also helpful to understand the employment outlook in Mississippi for these fields.
Only one psychology-related profession - child, family and school social workers -made the Mississippi Department of Employment Security's list of the top 100 in demand occupations.
But that doesn't mean there isn't potential opportunity in other specialty areas. The MDES expects 20 percent growth through 2018 in the employment of community and social services professionals. This category includes probation officers, clergy and other religious workers and various types of counselors and social workers.
Employment of clinical counseling and school psychologists is expected to grow eight percent during the same period.
Mississippi State University offers master's degree programs in clinical psychology, experimental psychology, and cognitive science. The university's Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology offers master's programs in school counseling and counselor education.
At the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, graduate level offerings within the psychology department are limited to doctoral students. However, master's degree programs are available in other psychology-related fields such as the Master of Social Work and the counseling psychology master's program, which may lead to professional licensure.
Delta State University in Cleveland offers a Master of Education in counseling with a school counseling or clinical mental health emphasis. Beginning in Spring 2012, the university also will offer an Education Specialist Degree with a concentration in school counseling.
