Psychology has been growing as the degree of choice among higher-education students in Malaysia.

According to Dr Steve Janssen and Dr Elizabeth Jones, heads of the psychology departments at two top-ranking local universities, the most common branches of this field are clinical and organisational.

With ongoing movement restrictions and no end to the pandemic in sight, clinical psychology will continue to play an important role, they say.

Industries, meanwhile, are increasingly hiring organisational psychologists to contribute to facets of the workplace such as recruitment and selection, training and development, employee assistance programmes, and health and safety.

There is also growing demand for educational psychologists, whose roles include improving students’ learning experiences and offering support to those with learning difficulties.

And with the fields of forensic and sport psychology, there are clearly many options available for local psychology graduates.

Local or overseas training?

Despite the assumption that overseas-trained professionals provide better consultation and care, most undergraduate psychology programmes offered at local universities provide education and training of equal standard.

According to Janssen, the main advantage of internationally accredited programmes is that their degrees are recognised everywhere in the world, which is especially helpful for those planning to do their postgraduate studies abroad.

“Although the quality of the programmes in Malaysia varies, those that are accredited internationally tend to be excellent,” he says.

Jones adds that while there are limited opportunities for high-quality postgraduate training in Malaysia, in part due to the lack of access to high-quality placements and clinical supervision, “this is rapidly changing, and it will only be a small number of years before Malaysian programmes will provide the same quality of training as overseas”.

The future of psychology

A stigma exists that psychology graduates usually end up working as counsellors or in human resources. Thankfully, Janssen says, this is changing.

“People are starting to understand that mental health is just as important as physical health,” he says. “The new generation is also normalising the attitude of putting things out in the open instead of suffering in silence, which is why psychology has emerged to be the most-searched course among Malaysian students.”

And during pandemic times, “people need help coping with social isolation, loss of loved ones, and the consequences of prolonged online learning on children. As such, clinical psychologists, educational psychologists and cognitive psychologists have gained popularity”.

With a clear future ahead for those in the field, here are two universities that Malaysians should consider for their undergraduate studies.

University of Nottingham Malaysia

Students at the University of Nottingham Malaysia are introduced to the basics of psychology in the first two years of their bachelor’s degree before selecting more specific areas of interest in their third year.

The research-intensive programme has received accreditation from the British Psychological Society.

The campus, located in Semenyih, offers the option for students to go to the United Kingdom in the second year of their degree. Students also get firsthand exposure through non-compulsory internship modules and work placements.

Monash University

Monash University is ranked in the top 100 global universities for its Bachelor of Science in Psychology programme, which has received a seal of approval from the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council.

The local campus in Bandar Sunway offers exchange programmes where students can go to Australia or enrol online in psychology units that are taught overseas.

Students have access to training and internships with leading researchers across a wide range of areas, including specialisation in cognitive neuroscience or mental health and wellbeing.

Afterschool.my is Malaysia’s no 1 higher education website that provides helpful information on courses, institutions and scholarships for students transitioning from secondary school to university level.