Psychological Science

Career Resources for Psychological Science Majors

Vassar graduates with a degree in Psychological Science pursue careers in numerous areas, including counseling, social work, advocacy, education, social science research, and marketing.  The following information provides an overview of where Psychological Science majors go after graduation along with some resources to help current students follow in the footsteps of our alums, or pursue alternative paths.

Popular First Employers of Vassar Psychological Science Majors

Click on the links below to be taken to the employers’ Handshake page or their Careers page where you can learn more about them.

Popular First Job Titles for Vassar Psychological Science Majors

Click on the links below to explore Vassar alums on LinkedIn who currently or previously have worked in that role.

Popular Graduate Programs of Vassar Psychological Science Majors

Majors interested in pursuing graduate school in Psychology or a related field are encouraged to speak with their major advisor, the current department chair for Psychological Science, or a faculty mentor.  The CCE is available to guide Psychological Science majors through the graduate school application process.  While faculty can make recommendations on which programs to apply to, our office can answer application questions, help narrow a list of schools by weighing pros and cons, help students decide if a Masters or a PhD is right for them, guide students on asking for letters of recommendation, review application essays, resumes, and CVs, and answer general questions on standardized tests.

In addition, the  Psychology Major’s Handbook provides the following recommendation on graduate school:  “Information about specific graduate programs including degree requirements, tuition, financial assistance, and admissions requirements, is available in an APA publication, ‘Graduate Study in Psychology’ a copy of which can be found in the department office, BH115.”  The CCE also recommends viewing the websites listed below:

Psychological Science majors who are interested in pursuing law school are encouraged to meet with a pre-law advisor at the CCE to learn more about the law school application process.  Students can schedule a “Law School Advising - Students” appointment through Handshake.  Students also can meet with the faculty pre-law advisor, Jamie Kelly, to get course recommendations or discuss academic concerns they may have that relate to preparing to apply to law school.

What Can I Do With This Major?

What Can I Do With This Major (WCIDWTM) is a long-time resource published by the University of Tennessee that contains links to popular careers and industries by major. This resource must be accessed through the CCE website in order to gain full access to this website.  Please visit the Major Exploration Tools page of our website and click on “What Can I Do With This Major” to begin exploring popular careers and industries that are typical for various majors.  

Please be aware that since this resource is developed by another institution that the names of majors may be different from those at Vassar.  For example, while we call the major “Psychological Sciences” WCIDWTM refers to this major as “Psychology”; therefore, be flexible when searching through this resource.  Students are also encouraged to review other related majors on this website such as Child & Family Studies, Counseling, Human Services, etc.

Vassar College’s LinkedIn Page

Browse Vassar Psychological Science Alums on LinkedIn. This resource provides a terrific visual representation of some of the top employers and industries that Vassar alums with this major go on to work in. In addition to top employers and industries, this tool also allows you to refine your search results by location, major/field of study, keyword(s), graduation date, skills, and more. Click the ‘Next’ button underneath Start Year/End Year to see additional ways to refine your search results. If you are most interested in seeing what recent graduates within this major go on to do, we recommend using the Start Year/End Year option to limit search results even further.

Industry Guides

Firsthand (formerly Vault Campus) is a comprehensive online career resource that includes downloadable Career Guides and Industry Guides for a wide variety of career fields. The list of guides below is not exhaustive; therefore, viewers are encouraged to search the Firsthand database for other career sectors that are of interest to them.

On-campus users: Enter your email address to create a personal account.

Off-campus users: Send an email to cce@vassar.edu with your name, graduation year, email address, country, and zip and we will create an account on your behalf.

Vault Guides relevant to Psychological Science

Internship, Research, and Job Search Resources

Handshake is Vassar’s job and internship database, where you can find opportunities from a variety of employers.  Current students can log in with their Vassar email address and the same password used to access your email.

Below are some additional websites or programs that we recommend Vassar students review.  While Handshake is a platform rich in opportunities, it does not capture everything, which is why we recommend everyone broaden their search regardless of their area of interest.

  • APA: Psych Careers: The American Psychological Association’s career website, where you can create a profile, search for opportunities, and attend a career fair in your area.
  • Psychology Jobs: This site helps professionals find jobs in school psychology, clinical psychology, psychiatry, industrial-organizational psychology, forensic psychology and many other subfields of mental health. They help individuals in every state and at every stage of their career.
  • Psychology Jobs & Internships Blog: Created by Dr. Camilla McMahon at Miami University, this website posts jobs and internship opportunities in the field of psychology for current students and recent graduates.
  • Social Psychology Career Center: a one-stop resource for psychology students and professionals.

Join VassarNet, Vassar’s online community of alums, students, parents, faculty, and friends of Vassar. On VassarNet you can find Vassar-connected internship and job opportunities and connect with alums based on major, industry, and more!

Funding Opportunities for Undergraduates

The CCE has a wealth of resources for students considering summer opportunities, including funding to support internships and related experiences.  The grant most commonly applied to by students is the Internship Grant Fund (IGF), which is need-sensitive funding for low-pay/unpaid summer internships.  The CCE offers other summer funding opportunities, which we encourage students to explore on the “Funding Opportunities” part of our website. Of particular relevance to Physiological Science majors are the Harold S. Geneen Fund for Internships in Corporate Life and Tananbaum Fellowship.

On-Campus Research Opportunities

The Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) is a 10-week, immersive program for Vassar science students to engage in cutting-edge research under the supervision of a faculty mentor.  Approximately 60 students team up with over 30 faculty to explore an array of topics spanning the sciences.  URSI students also participate in a wide variety of scientific workshops and social activities.  In early fall, URSI students and faculty come together with the wider community to present their research at the URSI Symposium.  Psychological Science majors, especially those interested in pursuing a PhD in Psychology or a related field, are encouraged to seek summer research opportunities through this program. 

URSI student fellows will receive a $5,000 stipend (pro-rated if the project is less than 10 weeks) for this full-time position. Applications typically open early in the spring semester and close in late February or early March.

The Ford Scholars Program at Vassar College supports faculty and student collaboration in summer research projects in the humanities and social sciences. Established in 1988 with a grant from the Ford Foundation, the program encourages students to explore life in the professoriate through an intensive academic experience with a Ford Faculty mentor.

Open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors, faculty-proposed projects are between four to eight weeks in length and represent a diverse array of research areas.  Applications typically open in early February and close later in the month.

In addition to Ford Scholars and URSI, many Vassar faculty in and outside of Psychological Science may be in need of research assistants during the academic year.  Regardless of your post-graduate intentions, becoming a research assistant can sharpen your academic and professional skills, which will look great in your internship, fellowship, graduate school, and job applications.  We encourage students to speak with a faculty member whose class(es) they enjoyed or talk with their major advisor to locate on-campus research opportunities.

Community-Engaged Learning

Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) provides or supports experiential learning opportunities where students are able to combine work in a nonprofit organization, a government agency, or business with academic work under the guidance of a faculty sponsor.  To learn more about embarking on a CEL opportunity, please visit the Office of Community-Engaged Learning’s website.

Professional Associations

Professional associations, organizations, and societies provide opportunities for people to connect with like-minded professionals, share internship and job postings, educate the public on how to break into various professions, inform their members and the public of news and advancements, host conferences, and much more.  Some professional associations allow students to join for free or at a reduced rate.  If there is a fee to join, we encourage you to speak with your department administrator or chair to see if they provide professional development funds for students to join associations.