How to Become a Psychologist

The required educational track for a psychologist looks differently depending upon your ultimate goals. With few exceptions, you will need a doctoral degree to become a psychologist. If research is your passion, a Ph.D. in psychology is the best path. If you are more interested in the clinical and practical side of psychology, a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree is likely a better fit.

It is worth noting that you can earn your certification and/or license in most psychologist specializations with either of these two degrees. However, choosing the degree that most closely matches your career goals should be a priority for both a successful educational experience and increased employability.

In some specific psychology fields, a master’s degree in psychology is sufficient. For instance, positions in industrial-organizational (I/O) settings – like schools or corporations – may require psychologists with specific coursework or certificates, but often fall short of requiring a doctoral education.

In most cases, prospective psychologists have the option of completing their coursework on campus or as part of a hybrid online and in-person degree program. The former is a more traditional approach that often requires full-time enrollment in a doctoral psychology program. The latter is more conducive to those working on their advanced degree part-time and/or while still working full-time. That said, on-site clinical coursework is a requirement for most psychology degrees and career paths.

It is also worth noting that a degree does not mark the end of a psychologist’s training. Most state boards require psychologists to complete continuing education work as a condition of licensure.

Another crucial step in becoming a psychologist is fieldwork. Just as the educational track looks different depending upon the field and where you hope to be licensed, field experiences vary as well.

Most psychology degree programs include supervised practicum courses that give would-be psychologists invaluable training in their field. These experiences are more on-site learning than hands-on psychology; students work closely with experts in the field in order to see what being a psychologist is really like. Many schools offer practicum experiences as two semesters of their doctoral psychology programs.

After the practicum, psychologists must complete internship field experiences. Unlike practicum fieldwork, internships immerse students into the full day-to-day experience of being a practicing psychologist. Interns remain under the supervision of accredited psychologists, but have a much broader and intense range of responsibilities than a practicum student.

Internships are also a significant time commitment. It can take students 1-2 years (or more) to accrue the 1,500-2,000 hours required by most states.

Currently, one of the challenges with the internship requirement is that there is an imbalance between the available internship positions and the number of students seeking to secure internships. The American Psychological Association (APA) is working to try to address this need, but psychologists-in-training must be prepared that they may need to put in some extra legwork to find a pathway to completing their required internship hours. 

All 50 states and the District of Columbia require psychologists to be licensed where they practice. Technically, licensing requirements vary by state and field, but there are only minor discrepancies for most certifications.

Assuming that a candidate for a psychologist’s license has completed the requisite degree (typically at the doctoral level) and fieldwork (typically a combination of practicum and internship hours), the only additional requirement is the passage of the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology. This 4+ hour, 225-question multiple-choice test covers the foundational knowledge across all the psychological disciplines.

Certain specialties, such as family psychology, clinical psychology, rehabilitation psychology, and neuropsychology require additional certifications for practitioners in some states and/or places of employment.

Psychologists aim to improve people’s behaviors and processes by studying and exploring how people relate to their environments and other people. This often involves examining the social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral tendencies of patients.

Some psychologists specialize in specific domains of psychology (like behaviorism or social science), while others practice more broadly. Similarly, some psychologists work independently in a counseling or clinical setting while others work as part of a team (like in research capacities, school-based child study teams, or organizational settings). 

There are many career paths that fall under the psychologist umbrella:

By now, you should realize that the answer to the question, “How do I become a psychologist?” is a complex one. Each of the aforementioned fields of psychology have their own focuses and pathways. To get a better idea of what your path may look like, check out the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) PSY|Book page to find out the requirements for where you hope to practice.