Bachelors Psychology Program

Discussion in 'Nursing and medical-related degrees' started by aaseek, Jan 18, 2014.

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  1. aaseek

    aaseek New Member

    Single stay at home mom of 2 very young kids, don't have a way to go to a traditional school but want to finish my bachelors so I can provide a future for myself and my kids... can anyone suggest some good online programs for me to look into?
    Thanks :biggrin:
     
  2. rook901

    rook901 New Member

    What is your goal? Do you want a career in psychology? Or, did you start your degree in Psychology and now just want to finish a Bachelor's to get a better job?

    If you want a career in psychology, realize that you will not be able to get any decent employment in the field without a Master's degree. To that end, I would recommend the cheapest and fastest Bachelor's in any field, and move on to the Master's level. Many Master's level psych programs do not require the undergrad to be in psych, or at most require only a certain number of undergrad psych credits.

    If you just want to finish that Bachelor's degree, then it depends on your resources. You mention that you're a stay at home mom, which I assume means that you are unemployed at this time. If that's the case, I highly recommend Western Governors University. You can use Federal financial aid for WGU, the tuition is very reasonable, and you can complete their programs very quickly if you are highly motivated and have plenty of time to devote to the program. Unfortunately, WGU does not offer a wide variety of majors, so they will not be your best choice if you're looking for something very specific.

    What part of the country do you live in? There may be good online programs in your region that qualify you for state-specific financial aid.
     
  3. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    I'm also interested in the OP's goals. There are a lot of jobs in social services that pay $30k-40k a year and only require a bachelor's in a related field, but there are more people with degrees in a related field than there are jobs. Not only is psychology the second most popular major in the country, it also has to compete with other majors such as sociology, counseling, social work, human services, behavioral science, and criminal justice. Those with bachelor's degrees in psychology are the 7th most underemployed according to Payscale.

    The types of jobs one can get with a bachelor's degree in psychology ignoring the enormous amount of competition are Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, parole officer, probation officer, and caseworker for a criminal justice or non-profit agency. Some are also able to land jobs in human resources, but I don't think this is common with general psychology degrees. Industrial/organizational psychology is meant for human resource-type work. Depending on your state's requirements, you might also be able to become a substance abuse counselor. There is a lot of growth in this field, but the pay is not that great. If you want to become a licensed professional counselor or licensed mental health counselor, you will need a master's degree in psychology or counseling (some states will even accept social work and marriage and family therapy even though they have their own licenses) that will meet your state's requirements. Many states require 48-60 semester hours or the quarter hour equivalent plus a long internship. School psychology often only requires a master's degree. You will need a PhD or PsyD in counseling or clinical psychology in order to become a psychologist.

    I agree with rook901 in that you should check out your in-state colleges first for the cheapest tuition and some regional name recognition. Other cheap colleges you should look at for online bachelor's in psychology are Fort Hays State University, Chadron State College (degree completion only), and Peru State College. With the exception of the capstone course, you can test out of a psychology degree at Thomas Edison State College. You can also almost test out of a psychology degree at Charter Oak State College and Excelsior College. However, you can't use financial aid for CLEP, DSST, Uexcel, etc. Some people take a few courses at cheap colleges to transfer to the Big 3 (TESC, COSC, and EC) and use the leftover financial aid to cover tests and the Big 3's fees.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 18, 2014
  4. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Okay, let me try actually answering the question that you posed.
    The following schools offer online bachelors degrees at (relatively) reasonable prices:

    Peru State College
    Southern New Hampshire State University
    University of Florida

    And, if price is not as much of a concern:

    Drexel University
    Arizona State University
    Penn State University

    I'm on my iPhone right now, so I am unable to provide links. However, a quick google search should help you locate details around each of these programs.

    Best of luck!
     
  5. susannerothschild

    susannerothschild New Member

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