Clinical Psychology

Types of Degrees Clinical Psychology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many clinical, counseling & applied 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	26,529
Doctor’s Degree	4,502
Graduate Certificate	3,325

What Clinical Psychology Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to clinical 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 Clinical Psychology Majors

Clinical 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.
• 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.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• 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.
• 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 Clinical Psychology Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to clinical psychology:

• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Clinical Psychology Majors

Clinical 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.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Clinical Psychology Major?

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

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clinical Psychologists	14.2%	$76,990
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Counseling Psychologists	14.2%	$76,990
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists	5.9%	$97,260
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Loss Prevention Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Neuropsychologists and Clinical Neuropsychologists	10.3%	$100,770
Psychology Professors	15.1%	$76,710
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
School Psychologists	14.2%	$76,990
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Supply Chain Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology?

This is one of the most frequently chosen graduate majors. It is the 7th most popular in the country with 22,477 students graduating with a master’s in clinical psychology in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 83% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,279
Black or African American	2,756
Hispanic or Latino	4,698
White	14,008
International Students	807
Other Races/Ethnicities	2,981

Geographic Diversity

Clinical Psychology appeals to people across the globe. About 3.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Clinical Psychology

Some degrees associated with clinical psychology may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to clinical psychology have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.9%
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)	1.7%
Some College Courses	0.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	29.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.1%
Master’s Degree	22.4%
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.	4.4%
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.	1.2%
Doctoral Degree	16.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	17.2%

Online Clinical 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)	12	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	17	4
Bachelor’s Degree	183	60
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	1,001	164
Post-Master’s	228	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	377	31
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	123	8
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	3	0

Majors Related to Clinical Psychology

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

Major	Number of Grads
General Psychology	144,496
Child Development & Psychology	22,179
Other Psychology	2,887

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.