The Best Guide to Online Bachelor of Psychology Degrees

The BA in Psychology online is one of the more popular options for students that are currently working full-time jobs or those that simply cannot make the extra time for attending classes in person. While you read more through this helpful guide, you should compare your career goals with what you can learn during this program.

Psychology Bachelor’s Degrees

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University of West Alabama Bachelor, Master 70+ programs in Teaching Education, MBA, Psychology, Cybersecurity, Sports, Business and more. Website
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An Introduction to this Degree

People fascinated with the individualistic nature of those around them could be great candidates for the field of psychology. There may be multiple benefits associated with pursuing a degree in this field, including learning more about the human mind and its processes as well as tying information from psychology to various other career fields.

If you are the type of person that enjoys exploring the rationality behind a person's way of thinking or developing hypotheses about how normal development can affect a person's persona, the field of psychology might be a great place for you to find a career. Your starting point for an incredible experience in the field of psychology is with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. This degree program can be found at a large number of universities all over the United States and even in the online setting.

The BA in Psychology can be a great foundation degree program for students interested in pursuing practice-based careers in the field of psychology, as well as for students that may be interested in taking part in careers that are involved with the development and conducting of research to help advance their field.

A BA in Psychology can also prepare students to pursue a Master's in Psychology. Regardless of your career aspects in this field, there are online BA in Psychology programs that can fit your needs.

Outline of the Degree Program

The online BA in Psychology specifically can begin with a look into some of the general education requirements of bachelors-level degree programs, as well as introductory courses in the field of psychology. General education courses are standard for all degree programs offered by universities and may include courses such as English Composition, History, College Algebra, and Arts.

As you review online degree programs in this field, you may notice that about half of your required credits are focused on general education components while the second half are focused more specifically on the field of psychology as a whole. When you have finished the general education component of your degree program, you can start looking at topics that are incredibly important to your field. The overall goal of your online BA in Psychology is to prepare you for either entry-level careers in the field or advanced degree programs that can lead to licensure.

If you have a good idea of which path you are interested in, you can choose a specialization or minor to help shape your education into a tool that can benefit you most for your future. Take a look at some of the specialization options available through some online universities below.

Child and Family Psychology

Online Bachelors in Psychology programs focusing on child and family psychology can be your preferred choice for learning more about development in the family setting. This program can include topics relevant to normal psychological development, some aspects of social psychology, and relationship psychology. Each of these topics can come together to provide you with more information about this field and its helpfulness in bringing families together.

Occupational Psychology

There is a wide array for varying specialized fields in psychology for you to choose from. The online Bachelors in Psychology - Occupational Psychology can help you dive into the workplace to analyze the effectiveness of incentive programs, methods to increase morale, and safety concerns that may require address. This type of degree program could be great for current business professionals interested in changing roles within their organization.

Behavioral Psychology

Students interested in exploring some of the more scientific aspects of psychology might pursue a specialization in behavioral psychology. This program can allow students to learn observational skills needed to analyze behavior and assist with implementing behavior intervention programs for children and adults in need. This degree program can also prepare learners for working as behavioral consultants in schools and other psychological agencies.

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Learning in the Online Setting

Now that you know more about what this program is set out to do, you may want to gain a better outlook on the online version of this program. Online BA programs in Psychology were implemented in an effort to help students with a wide range of responsibility gain access to higher education. In the past, people with full-time jobs or responsibilities at home may have had a more difficult time arranging their schedule to attend classes during the day or in the evening. With online programs, students can better manage their time for learning alongside their everyday activities. While in the online classroom, you can explore course topics through your virtual syllabus, contact your classmates and instructors through the class email tool, and even take part in mass discussions about various psychology-based topics.

Online classes can be accessed through your school's website, which you can log in to from any location that has an internet connection. Depending on your instructor, you may be required to log in to your course 1-2 times a week minimum and complete discussions or assignments as part of your attendance requirement. You may also notice during your search that programs are offered in both synchronous and asynchronous format. This can be influential on the type of freedom you choose for your online program since one (synchronous) requires that you log in for online lectures and follow closely with your instructors lead, while the other (asynchronous) allows you to work at your own pace and provides you with future deadlines to finish you work by. While you search for your perfect program, you should recognize the differences between these 2 types of programs.

Example Courses

The online Bachelors in Psychology program can be a prime choice for students interested in improving the quality of life of others. At the bachelors level, students can expect to see a lot of introductory and generalized courses that can prepare them for further learning in the future. General education components typically take up around 60 credit hours of a 120 credit hour program, meaning students can spend half of their time gaining relevant information about common educational fields. During the second half of an online Bachelors in Psychology program, students can focus more on the specific components of psychology that make up the basics of a professional repertoire. As you can see in the list below, students can then start to learn more about the history of psychology, as well as its transformation into one of the leading professional sciences in the country. Some related concepts such as specialty fields and age-related research may also be included in this program. Read more about some common courses in the online Bachelors in Psychology in the list below.

Social Psychology

One of the most profound aspects of human interaction is how it can affect your perspective on the world around you. In this course, you can learn more about how relationships, society, and culture can influence a person's personality and overall perspective. This course may look at normal social influences and how they play a role in development, as well as a look into how abnormal social influence can negatively affect a person's mental processes. This course can be a great follow-up to general developmental psychology courses during this program.

Cognitive Psychology

When considering psychology from an internal perspective, learners should know more about how the brain processes information, how it translates signals, and how it learns. This course can teach you more about how these processes are conducted normally in the human brain, as well as how these processes can be strained or damaged during a typical life cycle. Some concepts that may be covered in this course can include memory, attention, learning, and consciousness.

Developmental Psychology

From before birth, developmental psychologists can explore how the human brain develops and changes over time. Students enrolled in this course can dive deep into the brain's development from the point of conception to old age. This knowledge can be helpful for students considering careers in research, trauma studies, or even psychological practice in the field. Students may learn more about illegal drugs and their effects on the brain, as well as other factors such as neglect and abuse.

Career Opportunities with this Degree

The online Bachelors in Psychology can provide you with knowledge and skills required for many entry-level careers in society. The field of psychology can contribute a lot to your skills when working with people from diverse backgrounds or with people that have experienced adverse life experiences. Some of the most popular fields for bachelors level psychology professionals include those in social services, corrections, or even in business. Skills related to mental processes and knowledge of normal and abnormal mental development can come in handy for a lot of career fields common in society.

Our team of educational experts has researched some of the most popular career options for graduates of these programs. From that information, they were able to pull salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in order to give you some helpful information about potential earnings for each position. Take a look at the list of sample careers below to see if any of them are related to your career goals with this degree program. Where you live, demand, and experience can all influence how much you can earn in each position.

Professional Organizations to Know

Once you are graduated and working in the field, there are methods for gaining support from others in order to solidify your experience as a psychology professional. Professional organizations in psychology can be one of the best ways to meet new people in your field, attend conferences to learn more about specific topics important to your field, and be provided with advocacy during and throughout your career. There may be a wide variety of professional organizations to choose from while you are still a student and after graduation. Our team of educational experts has years of experience with educational programs that lead to successful careers. They have researched some of the top psychological organizations in order to provide you with the most recent information about each. The list beneath this section contain helpful information about each of these example organizations and how they can benefit you while you are involved in the field. Consider each of these and how they could improve your expertise in the field of psychology during your education and your career.

The American Psychological Association

Students that wish to pursue a career in psychological-based agencies should familiarize themselves with the American Psychological Association. This organization is the leading provider of research, networking, and accreditation in the field of psychology. Becoming a member of this organization can put you in touch with other psychology professionals in your field, give you access to job openings, and even educate you further on the policies and regulations associated with working in these types of positions.

The Society for Personality and Social Psychology

You may not have chosen a specialty at the bachelors level, but some students are aware of what type of work they would like to pursue when moving into masters and doctoral level programs. If you have an interest in social psychology, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology is incredible organization that focuses on this concentration and how it can be evolved into a more efficient professional field overall. Specialty organizations and those like it can be a great secondary choice for upcoming professionals seeking positions in this area.

The Association for Psychological Science

There are professional organizations designed to help better educate learners and increase the efficiency of educational training programs in the U.S. The Association for Psychological Science is an agency that seeks to spread the importance of psychological science at all disciplines, including those responsible for educating others on psychological principles. If you have a desire to support your field and help others learn more about its usefulness, this could be a great organization to consider joining.

Search Online Colleges by State

There are over 2,500 colleges with online degrees in our database. Many students find that there are universities that offer their programs online, but are in their vicinity. The majority of students studying online actually chose a college that is close to them, or at least within their region. Simply click on the state of your choice to view all of the online colleges in your state.