What is Psychology? Is it worth it?

“We don’t live in bungalows, duplexes or flats. We live in our minds. Yes, that’s our permanent residence. And there are no constraints of square feet there. No matter how well-organised your rooms, balconies, garages and verandas are, life is good only when things are sorted there – in your mind.”

- Mukesh Ambani

Psychology is a field of science that deals with the study of mental processes and human behaviours. It seeks to answer questions related to a person’s feelings, emotions, thoughts and actions while looking at the conscious and unconscious phenomena of the mind. The subject of psychology studies the different functions of the brain and mind while closely analysing how it works and how functions get impacted by mental illness, among other factors.

Importance of Psychology as a Subject

The field of medicine and science has made major breakthroughs and progress over the past decades, leading to superior healthcare treatments, facilities and general awareness regarding diseases among the public. While physical health has always been the priority, mental health has been neglected by most in the past. In the present world of stress and pressure, mental and emotional well-being has gained considerable importance.

Mental health includes psychological, emotional and social well-being. With the awareness among people increasing and the taboo around seeking help for mental well-being fading, we are witnessing an increased demand for professional services and guidance in this field. The need for psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists particularly increased during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. With this, the demand for courses in the field of Psychology has grown exponentially and several higher education institutes are offering a variety of courses in this subject.

Branches of Psychology and Careers

There are numerous branches or subfields of Psychology which approach the subject from different perspectives. As behaviour varies from individual to individual, the subfields are constantly growing and evolving. This provides an opportunity for students to specialise in any one subfield of their interest as a career.

1. Abnormal Psychology: This branch studies psychopathology, psychological dysfunction and abnormal in a clinical context.

2. Biological Psychology (Biopsychology): This branch studies the impact of the biological and natural process of the brain on the thoughts, behaviours and feelings of an individual.

3. Comparative Psychology: Based on the work of Charles Darwin, this branch studies animal behaviour in order to achieve a broader understanding of human behaviour.

4. Clinical Psychology: Focuses on diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.

5. Cognitive Psychology: It is the study of human thought processes including attention, memory, perception, decision-making, problem-solving, and language acquisition.

6. Developmental Psychology: This branch deals with human growth – physical, emotional, social, intellectual etc during the course of an individual’s lifespan.

7. Forensic Psychology: This branch applies psychological procedures, principles and research to legal and criminal issues.

8. Health Psychology: This branch studies how health and illness are influenced by factors such as psychology, biology and behaviour.

9. Industrial-Organisational Psychology: This branch applies the principles of psychology in workplace dynamics, employees and analysing productivity enhancement.

10. School Psychology: This branch deals with helping children in schools deal with emotional, social and academic issues.

11. Sports Psychology: This branch studies the influence of psychological processes on an individual’s sports performance and psychologists work towards the motivation and mental well-being of sportspersons.

Top Institutes/Universities offering Courses in Psychology

The subject of Psychology has taken on great importance in the present day and several institutes and Universities are offering a range of courses in this field. Shoolini University, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, is one of the most upcoming higher education institutes in the field of Liberal Arts.

Chitrakoot School of Liberal Arts offers the following courses in Psychology.

1. BA (Hons) Psychology and Counseling: This is a four-year degree course which includes subjects like behavioural psychology, social psychology, experimental psychology, etc.
2. BA/BSc Neuro and Behavioural Psychology: This is a 4-year course which includes subjects like psychology, neurology, clinical neurosciences, psychiatry, statistics, and physiology.
3. MA/MSc Psychology: This is a 2-year degree course and a student needs to have a bachelor’s degree in the subject in order to pursue this course.
4. PhD in Psychology: The University offers a doctoral program. A candidate must have a 2-year master’s degree in Journalism/Social Sciences/related discipline with a minimum of 55% marks or a 4-year Bachelor’s degree with Research in related discipline with a minimum CGPA of 7.5/10 or 75% marks.

Rankings

Shoolini University has been ranked by THE Impact Rankings among the Top 200 Universities in the world.

SCIMAGO - 35th rank in India.

The university has been awarded a diamond rating by the world-renowned QS I – Gauge, a prestigious worldwide university ranking agency.

QS World University Rankings 2022 – Asia - 271-280: Overall   

NIRF RANKINGS 2021

All India Rank: 101-150 (Overall)

All India Rank: 89th (Universities)

Placements

The university has a dedicated Placement Cell which provides the necessary help and guidance to the students not only in procuring jobs but also in helping them choose the right sectors for their careers. It provides individual career counselling to each student. Numerous companies visit the campus on a regular basis and the university has a high record of campus placements with students getting excellent packages with reputed firms.

Chitrakoot School of Liberal Arts is one of the most upcoming Schools of Shoolini University and has received appreciation and nominations for several awards by prestigious rating agencies.

Belletristic: Shoolini Loves Literature Society has been recognised for its high-quality sessions and literary deliberations. It brings together literary aficionados from across the country and abroad. In April 2022, the Society was nominated for the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2022. The society was shortlisted out of 500 entries from 22 countries as one of the top contenders in the category “Excellence and Innovation in the Arts”.

Careers in Psychology

A degree in Psychology equips an individual for a lucrative career in different sectors depending upon his specialisation.

1. Psychologist: You can become a psychologist in different sectors such as education, sports, etc., and work with patients or clients and treat them on the basis of their behaviour, thoughts or emotional analysis.

2. Psychotherapist: A psychotherapist provides therapy to individuals, groups, families or couples related to relationship issues, stress, depression, addiction, drugs etc.

3. Social worker: A social worker works with people going through difficult periods in their lives such as children, elderly people with disabilities and victims of crime and abuse. 

4. Counsellor: A counsellor works in a confidential setting and helps people get through their lives by exploring their feelings and emotions. It is a type of talking therapy and covers many areas.

5. Educational psychologist: You can be a counsellor in a school, college and university or you can become a teacher after doing a master’s degree in psychology.

6. Human Resource Manager: This branch combines Human resource management and psychology in understanding employees, their satisfaction and happiness levels and being a connect between the management and the employees.

7. Research roles: Research could be undertaken as a doctoral student in universities or governmental institutions or with NGOs and other social work organisations dealing to resolve challenges such as speech impediments, brain damage, child development or the impact of legal and illegal drugs on psychological health.

8. Media roles: Since psychology helps to understand people better, psychology graduates can work in media houses as writers, counsellors, and happiness officers while also dealing with mental health and matters such as handling stress and pressure.

Although psychology is a relatively young science, it is gaining the attention and the interest of a lot of young scholars. It helps in dealing with complex and stressful life that has become the normal lifestyle of almost everyone. Apart from that, it has a wide scope in the coming years in different sectors making careers explorative, interesting and lucrative.

 

Note: The views expressed in this article are that of Shoolini University and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha