In today’s world, there are plenty of problems that we all need to manage. From a student’s perspective, the burden of studies and from an employee’s perspective, the burden of office and other household issues has levied a great deal of stress in our lives. Students too feel these problems in their daily life routine and also have the pressure of making their career after 12th. The stress leads to a great amount of depression in our learning curves and performances in all spheres of life. To tackle with day to day behavior and psychological problems which are a part and parcel of our lives, ‘Psychology’ plays a vital role.
Career in Psychology
Psychology is believed to be the rock bottom problem as well as the solution to all the problems in our lives. This has made a career in psychology in India all the more useful. Let us look at how to become a psychologist after 12th and how it can help students with their career path.
Eligibility Criteria
The basic eligibility criteria for joining psychology courses in India at the graduation level is a minimum of 50% marks in 10+2 examinations from any board across the country. Delhi university colleges take up admissions strictly based on merit, which apparently shoot to astronomical heights of 90% and above. But there are other colleges too which provide the same undergraduate course on different brackets of grades.
Once you have decided on your career options after 12th and secured admission in any of the colleges across the country, you may graduate the course and look up for a specialization in a field of your choice. Masters in Sciences and Arts are some of the most sought after options after one has completed his/her bachelors.
Courses to Study
As we have mentioned before about both bachelors and masters programs, we would now look into the subjects and courses one needs to undergo so as to fulfill the primary requirements to become a psychologist in India. A student has to study psychology for a period of 3 years in order to get an undergraduate degree. As any career guide would suggest, there are 2 main courses available for the subject.
- Bachelors of Arts in Psychology (available in honors also) which is comprehensive in nature. It focuses more on the theoretical concepts of psychology.
- Bachelors of Arts in Applied Psychology (available in honors also) which has more research and practical oriented learning.
Best Psychology Colleges in India
There are many colleges across the country that allows students to pursue Psychology as a subject. Bachelors of Arts is a 3 years long course and Masters of Arts is a 2 year long course. Given below is a list of the best psychology colleges in India.
Basic Psychology
- Lady Shri Ram College for Women
- Daulat Ram College
- IP College for Women
- Kamla Nehru College
- Keshav Mahavidyalaya
- Mata Sundri College
- Vivekananda College
- Zakir Hussain Degree College
- Jesus and Mary College
- Applied Psychology
- BR Ambedkar College
- Gargi College
- Sri Aurobindo (Evening) College
These colleges are under the shelter of Delhi University. Here is another list of colleges which are deemed in nature and provide courses for psychology both at the Bachelors as well as the Masters level.
- Amity Institute of Psychology and Allied Sciences (AIPS), Noida
- Indian Institute of Psychology & Research (IIPR), Bangalore
- University of Rajasthan
- Loyola College
- Jamia Millia University
- University of Mumbai
- University of Calcutta
- Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
You may opt out of attending full time psychology classes and enroll in a correspondence course from IGNOU.
Fee Structure
The fee structure for courses in Psychology varies for different colleges. It is relatively unilateral for Delhi University. The University of Delhi charges a fee of around 8,000/- per year. It being a 3 year course, you can pursue your bachelors in a fee bracket of 20,000/- to 25,000/-.
For colleges other than Delhi University, the fee structure varies from 8,000/- to 1,00,000/- per semester. The psychology courses cost for other colleges is mentioned below:-
- Amity Institute of Psychology and Allied Sciences (AIPS): 1,00,000/- Per semester
- University of Rajasthan: 3,000-10,000/- per semester
- Loyola College, Chennai: 48,000/- per year
- Jamia Millia University: 10,000/- per year
- University of Mumbai: 4,000/- per year
- University of Calcutta: 3,000/- per year
- Guru Nanak Dev University: 20,000/- per year
Job Opportunities and Scope
With the growing amount of stress levels and increased self awareness among people, psychology scopes in future seem to be bright and will definitely attract a good number of students and private as well as public sectors will employee more professionals for the same.
Once a student has completed his/her bachelors, he may practice psychology as an Assistant or Fellow for a senior psychologist. Further he/she may enroll in a specialized Master’s course and receive a degree which will add quality to the resume. There are a variety of job opportunities available for students of psychology. They are as follows:
- Clinical Psychology
- Career Counseling Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Teaching and Research
- Industrial/Organizational Psychology
- Sports Psychology
- Agency/Community Counseling
- Educational Psychology
- School Counseling
- School Psychology
- Social Work
Psychologist Salary
Psychology as a profession is growing and in the near future, it will become one of the most sought after professional courses. The salary of a fresher depends on many factors like area of specialization, degrees and projects undertaken during college. Professional psychologist with M. Phil and PhD degree earn a handsome package and the ones who are engaged in private practice also earn a decent salary.
The starting psychologist salary in India per month may vary from 10,000-20,000 for fresher who looks for jobs right after college. As one gains more experience in this field and starts a private practice may earn anywhere between the salary brackets of 1,00,000-3,00,000/- per month. These kinds of numbers make psychology as one of the most sought after profession in the upcoming time and make it a promising career for students.
