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Psychology

View the employability skills

A graduate in psychology typically has:

  • research skills including the ability to apply multiple perspectives to psychological issues involving a range of research methods, theories, evidence and applications
  • analysis skills including identifying and evaluating general patterns in behaviour, psychological functioning and experience, generating and exploring hypotheses and research questions, undertaking empirical studies, data analysis skills using quantitative and qualitative methods, using psychological tools, laboratory equipment and psychometric instruments, and applying evidence-based reasoning
  • communication skills including developing a cogent argument supported by relevant evidence and being sensitive to the needs and expectations of an audience
  • IT and data handling skills, with familiarity with understanding, analysing, and presenting complex data sets
  • effective team working skills. Through research projects and other curricular activities
  • problem solving and reasoning skills
  • interpersonal skills, including being sensitive to the importance of enhancing cooperation to maximise the effectiveness of individual skills as shown in group work and team building
  • life long learning skills.

Psychology is an empirical science which aims to understand how and why people act in the ways they do and to apply that knowledge in a wide variety of settings. The discipline spans studies ranging from the observations of basic neural mechanisms to analyses of complex human relationships. The antecedents of modern-day psychology can be found in both biology and philosophy, but its methods of enquiry have developed not only from these disciplines but also from other natural, social and mathematical sciences. Psychology is a broad subject area but, whatever the particular topic of study and wherever the origins of its methods, it attempts to analyse and explain behaviour in a systematic, reproducible way. There is often a virtuous circle between theory and empirical data, the results of which may find their expression in applications to educational, health, industrial/commercial and other situations.

In addition to subject skills and knowledge, psychology graduates also develop skills in communication, numeracy, teamwork, critical thinking, computing, independent learning and research as well as many others, all of which are highly valued by employers. Because of the wide range of generic skills and the rigour with which they are taught, training in psychology is widely accepted as providing an excellent preparation for a number of careers. Psychology students are found in teaching, industry, social services, the media, information technology, computing, marketing and government agencies.

To check the growing range of resources produced by the Subject Centre to support employability and the use of this profile (including the Skills and Attributes map) go to www.psychology.heacademy.ac.uk.

This profile, produced in 2004, is based on the QAA benchmark to be found at www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/honours/default.asp.


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