It takes a lot longer than two years to become a licensed psychologist. However, a two-year associate’s in psychology degree from a community college can provide value, assuming that students have realistic expectations about what the degree will do for them. An associate’s degree in psychology is worth getting if you use it as the first step toward a career in psychology or for an entry-level aide, assistant or support role. Students should not, however, assume that they will be qualified to do the work of a psychologist after just two years of schooling.
What Is an Associate’s in Psychology?
An associate’s degree is an undergraduate degree that typically consists of 60 college credits, or about half of the amount of credits that are required to earn a bachelor’s degree. A full-time student can typically complete an associate’s degree program in psychology in two years of study.
Earning an associate’s degree in psychology takes significantly less time and costs a lot less in tuition than pursuing higher levels of education. The lower-division coursework that makes up an associate’s degree curriculum in psychology is easier than the upper-division classes you would encounter upon reaching the second half of a bachelor’s degree program.
Prospective students generally encounter three different types of associate’s degrees in the field of psychology. The Associate of Arts (AA) degree is a degree with a curriculum that emphasizes the liberal arts. AA in psychology programs are usually meant to serve as the foundation for students’ upper-division bachelor’s degree coursework. In other words, the program is designed to allow students to complete the first two years of a four-year program at a community college or junior college, which saves them money and then transfer the credits and courses they have completed to a four-year school.
The same is true for an Associate of Science (AS) degree. The difference between this transfer degree and an AA degree in psychology, at least theoretically, is a stronger emphasis on math, science and technical coursework over liberal arts coursework. However, since the content of associate’s degree programs that are meant to be stepping stones to a four-year college education usually emphasizes general education coursework over major coursework, the difference between the curricula of these two types of 2-year programs is usually minimal.
The third type of associate’s degree in psychology is an applied associate’s degree. Generally, an applied associate’s degree is meant to give students the practical skills they need for the workforce rather than focusing on meeting the general education requirements they could need in the future at a four-year school. As a result, an Associate of Arts in Applied Psychology or an Associate of Applied Science in Applied Psychology will typically cover more psychology coursework than AA or AS degree programs.
Taking summer courses or an accelerated course schedule may allow students to finish their associate’s in psychology degrees even faster.
The Curriculum of a 2-Year Psychology Degree Program
When you pursue an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree in psychology, you should expect two-thirds (or more) of the approximately 60 college credits that make up your curriculum to be devoted to general education coursework rather than core coursework for your major. This means that the extent of your studies in psychology during an associate’s degree program is limited.
Most programs include an introductory course in general psychology principles. Beyond the introductory class, students might take foundational coursework in developmental psychology, abnormal psychology, the psychology of personality, human sexuality, counseling psychology, social psychology or any number of other approaches and subject areas in the field. The number of courses you take in pursuit of an associate’s degree in psychology that are actually psychology courses may be as little as five or six.
What about applied associate’s degrees? The curriculum of these degree programs may still include some courses you would consider to be general education classes, like a sequence of first-year English composition courses, a college-level math class and a laboratory science course. However, the psychology courses you take as part of an applied associate’s degree in the subject are much more extensive. Rather than taking just five or six courses in your major, you might take seven, eight, nine or even more psychology courses.
Associate’s degree programs aren’t eligible for accreditation from the American Psychological Association – and neither are bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. The APA accredits only doctoral degrees, doctoral internships and postdoctoral programs.
What to Expect With an Associate’s Degree in Psychology
If you want to be a psychologist, you should plan on going to graduate school. No associate’s degree will equip you with the education needed to earn a license to practice psychology. Most psychologist roles require a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree. Certain specialties, like industrial-organizational psychologist, accept a master’s degree as the lowest level of education permitted, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Associate’s in Psychology Jobs
If you can’t be a psychologist with just an associate’s degree, what does this two-year degree qualify you to do? For students who want to work in the social science of psychology or the field of mental health, a two-year degree can help you gain access to entry-level roles in these fields. You might work as an aide or assistant to counselors and psychologists.
The role for which you would qualify with an associate’s degree in psychology may not be a direct role as a practitioner in the field of the study of the mind and behavior or in clinical treatment for psychological problems. Instead, the kind of job you’re more likely to attain with an associate’s degree in psychology is a support role assisting practitioners.
This job role falls under the occupation that the BLS categorizes as human and social service assistants. Some of the job titles that fit into this field, the BLS reported, include addictions counselor assistant, case work aide and clinical social work aide. Additional job titles listed by O*NET include advocate, clinical assistant and residential care assistant.
With this level of education, you might qualify for a role as a mental health case worker, whose job duties would likely include coordinating the services provided by psychologists, clinical social workers, therapists and other mental health practitioners. You can make a difference in these roles, but in an administrative capacity rather than through providing mental health services yourself.
The median annual salary for human and social service assistants as a whole was $35,960 as of 2020, the BLS reported. This puts the earning potential for this occupation below the $41,950 median salary for all occupations in the United States – and significantly below the $46,124 median annual salary that the BLS reported for all associate’s degree holders in 2020. One reason this salary potential is so low, aside from the unfortunate underpayment of many job roles in the field of mental health care, is that a degree isn’t essential for gaining entry to this career. A high school diploma is the typical minimum level of education to get started in entry-level jobs in this field, according to the BLS.
That said, you would be far from the only human and social service assistant to have an associate’s degree. O*NET reported that 18 percent of the occupation had an associate’s degree, while 39 percent had a bachelor’s degree and another 16 percent had some college education but no degree. Still, that leaves more than a quarter of the profession unaccounted for by the top three most common levels of education reported, and it’s unlikely that many of those remaining assistant-level workers have an education above a bachelor’s degree.
Not every student with an associate’s degree – or for that matter, a bachelor’s degree – in psychology ends up working in that field. Psychology degrees are excellent preparation for jobs in sales, marketing, business and any other career field that requires you to understand why people think, feel, act and make purchasing decisions the way they do. It’s possible to leverage an associate’s degree in psychology to attain a position in any of these fields that you could acquire with an associate’s degree in a different subject. Complementing your psychology coursework with a business course or two, extracurricular activities, internship experience and other work experience in related fields can help strengthen your job outlook.
Other job titles you might hold with an associate’s degree in psychology include entry-level behavioral health worker, therapeutic support staff member and clinical research assistant.
Beyond the Associate’s Degree
To really reap the benefits of a college education, the chances are good that you will need more than a two-year degree. Inside the field of psychology, your career options without at least a master’s degree are severely limited. In fields like business, marketing and education, you will need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree to move up in most fields.
The time and money you spend on earning your associate’s degree is certainly not a waste. Earning your associate’s degree puts you closer to completing your bachelor’s degree. By completing your first two years of school at a junior college rather than a four-year college, you can save tens of thousands of dollars. The average tuition cost of community college is about a third of that of public universities and a tenth of the tuition rate at private schools.
If you do plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree, you should be proactive about finding out the transfer policies at your intended four-year college. Degree completion programs intended for students with significant prior learning experience are a great alternative because they tend to have some of the most lenient transfer policies.
What’s next in your college studies? Depending on what you want to do, you might choose a bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work, or business. Master’s degrees allow you to work in industrial-organizational psychology, counseling and clinical social work.
What About an Associate’s Degree in Counseling?
Students who are interested in the study of psychology may also consider pursuing an associate’s degree in counseling. This educational path has a lot in common with the educational path of earning an associate’s degree in psychology, in that students can’t become professional counselors with this education, but they can use the degree to start their career preparation process. However, students should know that psychology and counseling are two separate, though related, fields.
Psychology is the study of the brain, thinking and behavior. Counseling is the professional relationship that empowers people – individuals, couples and families, for example – with skills, coping strategies, resources and support to address mental health concerns, stressful life changes and other issues. While counseling is generally a practice-oriented field, that’s not necessarily the case for psychology, a science in which many professionals work on research for the purpose of expanding knowledge and advancing the field.
Still, psychology and counseling are closely related areas of study, and both are used in the treatment and management of mental health conditions. The principles of psychology inform the methods and techniques of counseling. Counseling psychologists clinical psychologists use the concepts and methods of counseling in clinical practice with patients and clients, as do professional counselors and therapists.
While some associate’s degree programs in counseling do exist, this major isn’t the easiest to find at the associate’s degree level. Many prospective counselors start their education by majoring in psychology, since this degree program is the closest option to their desired field.
If you do pursue an associate’s degree in counseling, you should be aware that you are likely to encounter the same drawbacks as students seeking an associate’s degree in psychology. A two-year degree generally isn’t enough to qualify you to work in most professional counseling roles, especially roles that require licensure. You need a master’s degree to work in most kinds of licensed counseling roles, although some roles in mental health counseling, behavioral disorder counseling and substance abuse counseling require only a bachelor’s degree, according to the BLS. This means that your associate’s degree will most likely only qualify you to work in an assistant or aide capacity for a licensed counselor or with a counseling service or facility.
To become a counseling practitioner yourself, you will need to go back to school and earn at least a bachelor’s degree, if not a master’s degree.
Counseling degrees are much more widely available at the master’s degree level than the associate’s degree level.
Additional Resources
How Long Does It Take to Become a Psychologist?
How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job?
What Is the Fastest School for a Degree in Psychology?