What Psychology Majors Could (and Should) be Doing

Book excerpt: More students are majoring in psychology than ever before - over 85,000 students graduate with psychology degrees each year - so competition for grad-school spots and good jobs is fierce. What are you doing to stand out from the other hundreds of thousands of psychology majors? If a good GPA is all you have to show for your years in college, you may be in trouble. To go beyond the minimum, students could (and should) get involved in research, develop their scientific writing skills, attend conferences, join clubs and professional organizations, build a library of professional books, and present their research.By getting out of the classroom and actively participating in the real world of psychology, students can build skills that will prepare them for the competitive realms of graduate school and the workforce. Written in a lighthearted and humorous tone, this book shows both grad-school bound and career-bound students how to seek out and make the most of these opportunities. This book is suitable for undergraduate psychology majors and their professors; and other social science undergraduate majors, such as sociology, that would benefit from guidance about research, presentation, and other professional skills.