Careers

HOW TO BECOME A PSYCHOLOGIST

The Good Universities Guide describes a psychologist as someone who:

• Collects data about clients and assesses their cognitive, behavioural and emotional disorders
• Administers and interprets diagnostic tests and formulates plans for treatment
• Develops, administers and evaluates individual and group treatment programs
• Consults with other professionals on details of cases and treatment plans

According to RMIT’s Associate Professor of Psychology, Karen Hallam, “Being a psychologist can be a tough job, but it’s a really meaningful job to help people, who are sometimes going through the worst time in their life and be a person that helps lift them up”

To become a qualified psychologist in Australia, you must complete an accredited undergraduate degree, which has been approved by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC), with a major in psychology and a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), followed by a Masters in Clinical Psychology. 

Upon completion of a Masters degree you will need to register with The Psychological Board of Australia (Ahpra) so that you can practice as a psychologist. To learn more about Ahpra, click HERE 

RMIT’s example below outlines the pathways to becoming a psychologist:

If however, your goal is not to become a psychologist but you still enjoy helping people/learning about human behaviour, then I recommend researching the various occupations that use ‘psychology’ by visiting the Career Targets on the school’s career website. Click HERE

Ms Voula Jakubicki

Careers Coordinator