Teaching Psychology

An undergraduate degree in Psychology may be a step towards teaching Psychology or another subject. Teaching Psychology in a larger college or university usually requires at least a Master’s or Doctorate in Psychology, such as an MA, MS, MPsy, MEd in Psychology, EdD, PsyS, PsyD or PhD in Psychology, just as teaching Math at the college level usually requires a Master’s or Doctorate in Mathematics. Teaching at a university or college may not require an actual teaching degree, depending on the institution and sometimes the state. Again, a Psychology undergraduate degree is considered one of up to several possible foundation degrees for other fields. Teaching children in a public school, and often in a private one, requires an undergraduate or graduate teaching -- otherwise referred to as a Degree in Education degree. In this case, the BA or BS in Psychology would need to be followed by, at least, either by a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Education (BA), usually with a teaching certificate to follow, or a Master’s Degree in Education (MEd), also often with a teaching certificate. A Master’s is a more competitive degree than a BA or BS in the K – 12 teaching arena. A required teaching certificate, and even the course content for the certificate, is often state mandated. Earning the certificate may require up to several more months of education and, often, an internship in teaching. Private schools are less often regulated by states and so hire without a teaching certificate. Someone with a Bachelor’s in Psychology may also be able to take some education and perhaps other courses, and then earn the teaching certificate. Check your state education regulations.

Teaching in a community, or sometimes in another small college setting, usually requires a graduate degree, although a teaching degree of any sort may not be required. Vocational and technical schools differ widely in their requirements of teachers.