Colorado Technical University

what's the difference between master's & doctoral degree?do i need bachelor of arts or BSc.?

i want to study psychology and some university offers master's degree and some offer doctoral degree and some offer both. I want to know the difference between them. Also, do i need bachelor of arts or bachelor of science for psychology? and which one is better? To be a psychology, what are the steps i need to take when it comes to education? For example:high-school-undergrad-master's degree...

Public Comments

1. Here's your answer: It's a progression of levels. One first goes to primary then secondary school, this you know... elementary, middle, high school. Then one progresses to tertiary school; this means university level study. If you didn't get good enough grades in high school, you may need to attend a "junior college" before you enter university. This may take a year or two, but the credits usually apply toward your degree. Once you are in university, you are eligible to pursue a number of different levels of degrees, and they usually correspond with a certain amount of credit hours ( a measure of time). In a nut shell, the degrees are: Associates Bachelors Masters Doctors Associates is usually about 2 years of study. Bachelors are typically 4 years Both of those are considered "undergraduate" degrees. Masters usually takes an additional 2 years to achieve. Doctorate can take another 2 to 4 years to achieve. These two are considered "graduate" degrees, because you have already once graduated from college. Regarding Pshchology, you will pursue a science degree, usually. Consult advising at the university and they will direct you accordingly. Study hard!!
2. To get a masters or PhD or PsyD in psychology, first you need to earn a bachelors degrees in psychology. That's 4 years of college. A masters degree is another 2 years of college after the bachelors, and a PhD or PsyD is another 2-6 years after the masters degree. A masters is usually just advanced coursework, and a PhD is an original piece of research.
3. You need a masters to even start being a psychologist. A BA is a 4 year college degree but if you are going into psychology, you need a masters or above. A masters is two more years and a Doctors is even more college. Some degrees like education, you can get a masters in one year.
4. A doctoral degree follows obtaining a master's degree, which follows a bachelor's degree. If you have none, you would get your bachelor's first; then if you wanted to continue your education, a master's; then, a doctorate, if you wished. Pure psychology is considered a bachelor of arts degree. If, however, you were more interested in the neural underpinnings, for example, you could go into premed or a related science field in order to go into medical research for biological reasons for behavior. Studying behavior directly is considered liberal arts; biological research is science. It depends on your approach.
5. Generally, like in high school, you start out as a freshman, sophmore, junior, senior. If you go to a Junior College you'd generally only be able to graduate with an associates degree -i.e. only two years of school. You'd get your bachelors degree after four years, the bachelor of arts usually requires 12 semester hours of foreign language. The bachelor of science is usually easier to obtain, both are similar degrees. After you've taken about 120+ hours is when you get your bachelors degree. Then after two more years which is about 60 more hours you get your Master's degree. Then following that you get so many years to apply for your Doctoral degree and so much time to write your dissertation. So all together you'd be spending 8 years in school about? Maybe more depending Psychology majors usually have internships and special programs they have to work in before becoming professional doctors.