I want to pursue for psychology after 12th. What should I do?

Question : I want to pursue for psychology after 12th. What should I do? Teentalker , 17-year-old

Dear Teentalker,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns.

The scope of pursuing Psychology as a subject after 12th and as a career in India and overseas is vast.

Typically, after 12th, you need to pursue your B.A (Bachelor of Arts) in Psychology or B.A (Psychology-Hons) which is a 3 year course, if you plan on pursuing your undergraduate degree in India or the UK (though some courses in the UK also offer four year programs).

If you plan on studying Psychology in the US, then it is a four year program.

However, in order to make sure you get the best out of what you learn, it is.....

Dear Teentalker,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns.

The scope of pursuing Psychology as a subject after 12th and as a career in India and overseas is vast.

If you plan on studying Psychology in the US, then it is a four year program.

However, in order to make sure you get the best out of what you learn, it is important to make sure you seek admission to a reputed institution since the quality of internships/jobs you end up with will depend a great deal on the college you graduate from.

Please click on the following link in order to view the top colleges in India and the UK offering a Bachelor's degree in psychology:

https://www.univariety.com/search/india/top-psychology-colleges

http://www.studyin-uk.in/studyuk/psychology/ http://www.studyin-uk.in/study-guide/top-5-uk-universities-study-psychology/

Please click on the following links in order to view the top colleges in the US offering a Bachelor's degree in Psychology.

http://college.usatoday.com/2017/07/21/10-best-psychology-colleges/

The field of Psychology can broadly be categorized under the following:

Application-based (where what you learn can directly be applied in your internship/job).
Research-based (excellent option if you wish to pursue your PhD and become a social scientist or a University Professor).

Areas of specialization under application-based programs:

Clinical Psychology
Counselling Psychology
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Social Psychology

Areas of specialization for research-based programs

(Apart from Clinical, Counselling, Industrial and Social, here are a few more):

Cognitive Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Neuroscience

In India, courses tend to be more application based due to the kind of work related opportunities that are available. However, if you're passionate about questioning everything around you and would like to dive deeper and do research, then you can look at pursuing research based courses abroad.

You can also pursue application based courses overseas if you wish to.

Eligibility Criteria for admissions to B.A (Psychology) programs after 12th:

In India: The marks that you score in 12th grade is of prime importance. Apart from that, for admissions to certain colleges/universities, you might have to prepare for entrance exams.
In the UK: Apart from class 12th marks, having a good score in the IELTS entrance exam is essential.
In the US: Apart from class 12th marks, having a good score in the SAT and TOEFL exams is essential.

In order to learn more about studying in the US and UK, please click on the following links to get additional and reliable information:

http://www.usief.org.in/ (USA)

https://www.britishcouncil.in/ (UK)

In order to figure yourself out better, I'd highly recommend you begin working on the following tools from the Teentalk website: