Online Degrees in Psychology and Mental Health

Many students become psychology or mental health majors for the expected sense of professional satisfaction they’ll experience once they’re in the field, particularly for those who go into human or social services. Another major benefit: many psychology degree holders enjoy strong job and salary potential.

Anyone with a passion for helping others and a fascination with the human brain or behavior is likely to enjoy studying psychology, but there are a few personality types who really excel in the field. According to The College Board, it helps when students are math and science oriented, but also excellent critical readers and writers. They must also be able to evaluate themselves and others in a very technical way.

Psychology and mental health degree programs can be very text-oriented disciplines, making them suitable for online learning. An online degree in psychology or mental health is particularly suited to those who are already working, have family responsibilities or prefer the flexible online study format.

What do psychologists and mental health counselors do?

Psychology degree programs can pave the way for a number of careers in a variety of fields — from social work and criminal justice and psychiatric support occupations to advanced research, medical careers and business.

Here are some occupations and their associated duties.

Psychologists

• Observing and interviewing individuals and diagnosing disorders by identifying psychological, emotional, behavioral, or organizational issues
• Discussing the treatment of disorders with clients
• Conducting scientific studies on behavior and brain functions and sharing findings through publications
• Supervising support staff

Marriage and Family Therapists

• Working with individuals, couples and families to help them process difficult situations or life changes
• Helping clients develop strategies to cope with adverse situations
• Maintaining confidential records

Rehabilitation Counselors

• Helping individuals with physical, mental, developmental, or emotional disabilities by providing individual or group counseling
• Consulting with other professionals like doctors and psychologists to develop treatment plans for clients
• Helping clients adjust to their disabilities and help them obtain medical care, career training and advocate for their rights to work in a job of their choosing

Addiction Counselors

• Evaluating clients on the basis of their mental and physical health in order to assess if they are ready for treatment
• Helping clients develop the skills they need to recover from their addictions and modify their behavior
• Helping clients’ families develop strategies to cope with their problems and providing support

Psychiatric Technicians and Aides

• Working under the supervision of psychiatrists, therapists and doctors to help patients with psychiatric disorders
• Leading patients in therapeutic and recreational activities
• Monitoring patient behavior
• Helping transport, admit and discharge patients

Choose a degree that can help you meet your career goals

Psychology and mental health education programs are flexible disciplines, meaning you can earn a degree online at virtually any level — from undergraduate certificates and diplomas to post-graduate degrees.

Depending on one’s chosen degree or career path, some online programs may require labs or face-to-face internships. Sometimes these requirements can be fulfilled through local campuses, regional hospitals or mental health centers.

Prospective students should research online degrees in psychology or mental health thoroughly to ensure they suit their goals, availability and learning styles.

Online Certificate Programs in Psychology and Mental Health

What can I expect to learn in an online certificate program?

Possible electives: Organizational theory; industrial psychology; history and systems of psychology

What can I do after earning a certificate?

A certificate can help entry-level workers get their first jobs in the field of mental healthcare and psychology. Depending on the concentration of your certificate, some potential occupations are:

• Social and human service assistant
• Psychiatric aide
• Child care worker
• Sports coach

Online Associate Degree Programs in Psychology and Mental Health

What can I expect to learn in an online associate degree program?

Online psychology associate degree programs help students learn introductory theoretical and practical concepts while preparing them for the upper-division coursework that takes place in bachelor’s programs or related fields of study.

You may be able to earn one of the following associate degrees:

• Associate of Arts (A.A.), which tend to include history or language courses
• Associate of Science (A.S.), which often include more math or science classes
• Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.), which require less general education requirements overall, as it is a terminal degree

Note: A.A.S. degree programs are considered terminal because the credits earned may not be granted transfer equivalency, nor do they fulfill the general education requirements of a bachelor’s degree program.

Typical duration: Two years of full-time study

General prerequisites: High school diploma or GED

Typical coursework: Most program curricula balance general education requirements with fundamentals of various types of psychological study. Course examples may include:

• Human growth and development
• Social psychology
• Abnormal psychology
• Research methods
• Writing in Psychology

What can I do after earning an online associate degree?

An associate degree in psychology may help you qualify for entry-level positions in the field of psychology. Potential occupations are:

• Market researcher
• Substance abuse counselor
• Psychiatric technician
• Social worker

Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs in Psychology and Mental Health

What can I expect to learn in an online bachelor’s degree?

Online psychology bachelor’s degree programs are a great way for aspiring psychologists to learn about the fundamentals of the human psyche and prepare for future studies at the master’s or doctoral level. Some online bachelor’s degree programs in psychology offer specialized concentration tracks in areas such as criminal justice or marketing.

Depending on the school, students may have the opportunity to choose between a:

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in psychology which tends to include modern languages as a general education requirement
• Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in psychology which usually has a business or economic component

Typical duration: Four years of full-time study

General prerequisites: High school diploma or GED

Typical coursework: In general, curriculum of an online bachelor’s degree program focuses on understanding the various facets of the human mind, and finding what causes individuals to act, think and feel in a particular manner. Here’s a short list of core courses you may find:

• Research design and analysis
• Social psychology
• Psychological measurement and testing
• Clinical and counseling psychology
• Biological psychology
• Culture, ethnicity, and diversity

Students may be required to complete a capstone project as a part of a bachelor’s online psychology degree.

Possible electives: Electives may vary depending on your chosen concentration and can sometimes be selected from upper division or graduate courses with special administrative permission. Some examples of electives are: group dynamics; drugs and society; behavior modification theories.

What can I do after earning a bachelor’s degree?

Online Master’s Degrees in Psychology and Mental Health

What can I expect to learn in an online master’s degree?

Online master’s degree programs in psychology generally teach students advanced theories of human behavior, effective research methods, and how various treatment methods can promote positive changes in the lives of individuals.

The two most commonly earned degrees in the field of psychology and mental health are:

• Master of Arts (M.A.) which typically indicates a liberal arts focus
• Master of Science (M.S.) which usually emphasizes math and science

You may also find online master’s programs in health psychology that allow you to study the psychological, social and biological factors that affect health and illness.

Typical duration: One to three years of full-time study

General prerequisites: Bachelor’s degree

Typical coursework: Along with understanding the behavior, emotions and thoughts of human beings, there is usually a concerted effort on research methods and assessment. While curriculum can vary from program to program, here are some examples of potential courses:

• Themes and theories of psychology
• Lifespan development
• Cognitive and affective bases of behavior
• Applied psychology research methods

You may need to complete a capstone project, an internship and/or a master’s thesis depending on your online psychology degree requirements.

What can I do after earning a master’s degree?

An online mental health counseling degree at the master’s level is often the minimum requirement to become a mental health counselor.

Graduates of psychology master’s programs can go on to become psychologist assistants in mental health, counseling or research environments. Those who wish to become full-fledged, licensed counselors without earning their doctorate can pursue careers in school or industrial-organizational psychology. Potential occupations include:

• School and career counselors
• Marriage and family therapist
• Mental health counselor
• Rehabilitation counselor
• Organizational consultant
• Intervention advocate
• Social service manager

Online Doctoral Degrees in Psychology and Mental Health

What can I expect to learn in an online doctoral degree program?

A doctoral degree is the minimum educational requirement to practice as a psychologist. Earning a doctorate in psychology can help students master advanced psychological concepts and the range of techniques used to understand and study the human mind.

While there is often a crossover in curriculum content, these two degrees are offered at the doctoral level:

• Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) in psychology typically emphasizes theory and advanced research
• Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) typically focuses on clinical instruction

Doctoral students may want to choose a specialty depending on their desired career path.

Typical duration: Five to seven years of full-time study

General prerequisites: Master’s degree

Typical coursework: Much of the curriculum covers human behavior on a global level, with an emphasis on understanding feelings, beliefs and attitudes from a variety of cultural perspectives. Coursework can provide an in-depth overview of research methods, as well as a close look at the biological, social and cognitive areas of psychology and may include:

• Interpersonal psychotherapy
• Research in psychology
• Lifespan development
• Psychology and social change
• Consultation and supervision in psychology

Doctoral students are typically required to complete a dissertation which involves independently researching an issue in psychology, writing a paper, and defending it to an academic committee. Psy.D. programs may also give students the opportunity to gain real-world clinical experience through practicum courses and internships.

Possible electives: Ethics and multicultural issues in psychology; cognitive and affective bases of behavior; psychology of group dynamics.

“A psychology doctorate is extremely marketable because you develop valuable and transferrable skills, such as writing, communicating, investigating and understanding behavior, which likely serve you well in many different employment settings,” says Peggy Christidis, PhD, senior research officer at APA’s Center for Workforce Studies (CWS).

What can I do after earning a doctoral degree?

The BLS states that overall job opportunities will likely be the best for individuals with doctoral, education specialist degree and postdoctoral work experience in clinical, counseling, or school psychology positions. Some of the potential occupations open to you after graduating may be:

• Clinical psychologist
• Neuropsychologist
• Professor of psychology
• Researcher
• School psychologist
• Counseling psychologist
• Industrial-organizational psychologist

Specializations in Psychology and Mental Health

You may have a choice of concentration for your bachelor’s or master’s degree programs that may include:

• Addictions
• Applied psychology
• Child and adolescent development
• Forensic psychology
• Marriage and family counseling
• Mental health
• School counseling
• Sports psychology

Best Online Colleges for Psychology and Mental Health

We’ve used factors that students that are especially useful for students interested in online psychology and mental health. To present you with the best opportunities, our methodology has taken into consideration factors like number of online programs offered in psychology and mental health, tuition, ratio of students participating in distance education programs compared to the total enrollment, student-faculty ratio, services such as academic and placement, and more.

NOTE: The accuracy of data derived from IPEDS depends on colleges regularly reporting to IPEDS. Not all colleges are as regular as they should be in updating this information with IPEDS. OnlineDegrees.com, therefore, has gone a step further to ensure the rankings you see are accurate and verified. We manually check each college website to provide you the top rankings you can rely on. Because of this double-check, the number of colleges may vary for each degree level.

Accreditation

Accreditation is a voluntary process that universities and colleges undergo in order to demonstrate that their programs meet or exceed certain industrial standards in terms of quality. The accreditation status of a program or institution can be important especially if you want to change your career or advance your education. It may also be an important criterion for obtaining professional certifications, licenses or even financial aid. Some professional bodies that accredit psychology degrees are:

• American Psychological Association (APA)
• Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS)
• National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
• Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
• Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council
• Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs

Certifications and Licensure

Certification can vary depending on your occupation and the state you are practicing in. The National Board for Certified Counselors can provide information about your state’s regulating board. While certifications may not be mandatory, certain employers or hospitals may require psychologists to be certified. Psychologists can obtain specialty certifications through:

• American Board of Professional Psychology
• American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology

Similarly, licensure requirements for various counselors also vary. These organizations can provide more information:

• Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network
• Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards
• Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification
• Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards

Many counseling and psychologist professions may require continuing education courses in order to maintain licenses. All states require mental health counselors to be licensed.

Scholarships and financial aid programs

• Psi Chi Undergraduate Awards and Grants
• American Psychological Foundation Scholarships and Grants
• APA Services for Transition Age Youth Fellowship
• APF Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Child Psychology Graduate Student Fellowship
• The Melanie Foundation Scholarship

Occupations and Career Outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most psychology-related occupations are projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations. Have a look at the table below to see the BLS projections for occupations related to this field along with job openings, average salary, total employment and job outlook for 2016 to 2026.

Employment Statistics

Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists