A psychology professor teaches college students and usually runs research, and the path takes about a decade: a bachelor's degree, a PhD (about 86% of people in this job have a doctorate or postdoctoral training), often a postdoc, then a faculty search. You will learn the science (research methods and statistics), the craft of teaching, and the habit of publishing. Each stage builds on the last. Foundations gives you the core science and the ability to read and run a study. Job-ready makes you a competitive grad student and early-career instructor with a record of research and teaching. Advanc
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Stage 1 of 3 · about 40 weeks
Build a solid base in psychological science, statistics and academic writing, and get your first research experience as an undergraduate.
Core psychology content
You cannot teach what you do not understand. Intro, abnormal, developmental, cognitive, social and biological psychology are the courses you will eventually teach, and they shape which subfield you choose.
Research methods and critical thinking
Psychology is an empirical science. Professors are judged by how well they design studies, spot confounds, and tell good evidence from weak evidence.
Statistics and data analysis
Statistics is the language of the field, and you will teach it. The tasks in this job include grading quantitative work and publishing findings, which means choosing and interpreting tests correctly.
Academic reading and writing in APA style
Professors read and write all day: journal articles, grant proposals, student feedback. Clear writing is the skill that most separates strong applicants.
Getting into a research lab
Admission to a PhD program depends heavily on research experience and a faculty letter of recommendation. Lab work is where you learn how science actually happens.
Then 2 more stages (about 560 weeks in all) with lessons, drills, projects, 6 interview questions with strong answers and free resources.