You can do just about anything with a degree in psychology. Coursework through the College of Arts and Sciences allows you to obtain a wide range of skills and abilities, including critical thinking, verbal, writing, analytical, and research skills. The psychology degree also affords a scientific understanding of human behavior and its related scientific methodologies. This diverse skill set thus prepares you for a multitude of career paths.
Undergraduate degrees in psychology can be applied to entry-level positions that utilize analytical, writing, and verbal skills in various fields such as business, education, health, and human resources. Graduate work in psychology is required for many careers in fields such as clinical, counseling, education, forensic, health, industrial/organizational, research, school, and sports psychology.
In addition to advising within the Psychology department, there are many campus resources to help guide your career search.
Alumni Careers
Our graduates have used their training to find success in careers across a number of different fields. Below is a sampling of positions our alumni have held.
- Account manager
- Recruiter
- Counselo
- Psychiatric technician
- Volunteer coordinator
- Treatment team member
- Inventory manager
- Life skills assistant
- Relief worker
- Buyer
- Lab manager
- Child manager
- Neuroscience source analyst
- Physical therapy aide
- Research and counseling
- Administrative support specialist
- Liability and coverage investigator
- Vocational manager
- Special education coordinator
- Marketing specialist
- Personal agent
- Behavioral support specialist
- Project manager
- Owner
- Therapy assistant
- Case manager
- Behavioral therapist
- Account representative
- Recruiting coordinator
- Assistant women’s lacrosse coach
- Occupational therapist
- Mental health assistant
- Editorial assistant
- Production manager
- Site lead
- Event and race director
- Lab coordinator
- Analytical chemist
- Case manager and mentor
- iOS developer
- Chemical dependency counselor
- Career consultant
- Operations coordinator
- Resource consultant
- Protective services
- Office manager
- Organization development specialist
- Research assistant
- Eating disorder therapist
- Children’s ministry
“The moment I committed to the University of Oregon I knew I wanted to be a psychology major. What I was not expecting to be a part of was the interesting research of neuroscience and developmental psychology. Psychology helped me see how law is a field of multidisciplinary research that has to do with a far wider scope of the human behavior than I initially thought. The psych major at UO helped me develop a unique research approach that is now impacting my legal research as a current law student.”
—Arianna Valencia, psychology major, '23
“Psychology is a broadly applicable major that has allowed me to pursue multiple different passions in several fields during my time at UO and in my post-graduate career. Whether it be as a research assistant for two labs, an academic advisor for peers, leading UO's psychology honor society Psi Chi, or learning to brew at a brewery, psychology has helped me succeed inside and outside of academia. After my gap year, I plan to pursue graduate school in either the states or Europe.”
—Maya Means Ordway, psychology major, '22
Why Study Psychology?
Read about examples of career paths and actual alumni jobs.