If you are majoring in or pursing a career in psychology, choosing the right school is an important choice. Although many schools offer courses in psychology, they may not offer the courses or professors to provide training in the area that you are interested in. Since your education is critical for those pursing a career in psychology, it is critical that you do not waste your time at a school that does not meet your needs.

Psychology has become a diverse field covering a variety of topics. The range of areas covered spans topics such as animal psychology, sports psychology, family psychology, clinical psychology, psychological profiling and others. FInding the best fit of your interests with what the field of psychology has to offer can be a daunting task. The field continues growing as more aspects of behavior and thinking are studied. Whether you are wanting to know the best design for a work area (ergonomic psychology) or how to respond to a major crisis, the field of psychology impacts lives on a daily basis.

One of the questions to consider is what is your final psychology objective? Knowing who you want to work with and where you want to work will help you with this one. Since psychology is such a diverse field, knowing where you want to end up will help determine the best choice in terms of where you will want to attend school. For example Stanford is a top rated school, but if your interest is psychoanalysis, it is not on the radar screen. Places like Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Boston University, City College of New York or the Tavistock Institute are who you want to investigate. If you want to be a children’s counselor, you do not want to attend a school whose specialty is organizational psychology.

With some branches of psychology, a master’s degree is the terminal degree, yet other fields require a Ph.D or post-graduate work. Knowing what your final objective is helps narrow down where to look for a psychology education. If your plan includes graduating from an APA (American Psychological Association) approved program, then you will want to consider schools that have strong connections with such programs.

Besides the final objective, you will also need to find out which psychological school of thought fits you best. The many schools of thought on how the mind works can be confusing and daunting. Some are a good fit and some are not. If you are interested in behaviorism then the University of California or University of Wisconsin offer good programs. If you are wanting a Christian oriented program, schools like Fuller Theological Seminary or Regent University are top schools. Knowing what the orientation of the program at the school is important. Some universities may only offer a few courses in the theory you are interested in, and many courses in theories that present a contradictory viewpoint.

Some schools focus on research psychology, some on developmental psychology or some other branch of the field. Finding the school which provides training in the area you are interested in is important. The course of study for a neuropsychology training is distinctly different from one focused on feminist psychology. Once you have some schools in mind, obtain copies of their course catalogue in order to see what the focus of their training is.

Another thing to consider is the professors at the universities you are considering. If you want to study under a particular professor, you may want to consider that in your decision making. Since many universities encourage professors to conduct research or publish, the likelihood is that those interests are going to spill over into the classroom. For example, the nationally recognized expert on adolescent sexuality, Robert Jensen, Ph.D. is at the University of Texas at Austin. If you wanted to learn from this recognized expert, you would need to attend the University of Texas at Austin.

What your professors are interested in is what you will be introduced to. The better the fit between you and the professors, the more enjoyable your educational experience will be. Since some professors have limited tolerance for worldviews or opinions that differ from their own, having a good fit between you and the professor is important. Some student report feeling devastated after enduring instruction with professors that held differing worldviews or values than their own. If you are a person that wants exposure to other values and worldviews, then the biases of the professors becomes irrelevant. When researching various universities or colleges, the roster of instructors can provide clues to the areas of expertise each professor has. Visiting the website of the college or university will also provide you with information concerning the specialties of the instructors.