Psychology is the field of study that has to do with the science of behaviour and mind, both conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as thought. Psychology is an academic discipline with such an amazing wide scope and diverse interests all in a bid to understand the properties of the brain, how it affects our action and the society at large. As a course in the social sciences, it aims to understand individuals and groups by establishing general principles, patterns and researching specific cases. Physiology is a profession (clinical psychology), discipline (academic psychology), and science (research psychology)
A professional practitioner or researcher in the field of Psychology is called a psychologist and can also be referred to as a social, behavioural, or cognitive Scientist. Psychologists attempt to understand the Physiological and social processes that underline our mental functions as individual and social behaviour.
Psychology is a course in the faculty of the Social sciences. Upon completion of a course in Physiology, students are awarded a Bachelor of Science. Depending on your mode of entry into the university, Psychology takes three to four years to study in Nigeria.
Psychology is an interdisciplinary field that cuts across several other courses. This article covers the various fields under Psychology. These fields will be a part of your overall course work if you choose to study Psychology. Here, you will also learn of the admission requirements for the course in Nigerian universities, O’ level requirements as well as direct entry-level. Read on below:
Psychology Courses in Nigeria & Requirements
The field of psychology is studied under various subfields of psychology which altogether meets the goals of psychology. These are:
Clinical Psychology
Clinical Psychology has to do with the scientific ways of dealing with Psychological problems. It is a branch of Psychology that adopts a treatment-oriented approach in dealing with psychological problems. It is also known as counselling psychology or psychotherapy. This branch of Clinical psychology focuses on the prevention, understanding and cure of psychological issues with the use of psychotherapeutic treatment. Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory, and practice.
Biopsychology
This branch of psychology studies the roles, functions and effects of the brain and neurotransmitters in our actions. How these organs influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It thus combines neuroscience and the study of psychology.
Educational Psychology
Educational psychology deals with the scientific study of human behaviour in an educational setting. This branch of Psychology deals with issues such as learning disorders, adolescence behaviours etc. Educational Psychology also focuses primarily on the different developmental stages of children and teenagers.
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Psychology is the branch of psychology that studies mental processes, such as thoughts, perception, memory and problem-solving abilities.
Industrial Psychology
This branch of psychology deals with practical problems in workplaces and organizations by applying psychological principles. Industrial psychologists also referred to as organisational psychologists, are often employed by companies to administer tests in order to measure the attitudes and skills of employees or potential employees.
Health Psychology
This branch of psychology studies how behaviour, biology and social context influence the health of people. Health psychologists many times work alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings.
Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology is a branch of psychology that attempts to explain the development of humans over the course of their lives such as the development from babies to mature adults as well as the evolution of culture over the years and decades.
Experimental Psychology
This is the branch of psychology that uses scientific methods in studying the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, thinking, of humans. The outcome of experimental psychology then is cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology focuses on studying higher mental processes such as decision-making. Experimental psychologists engage in a lot of research in laboratories and use animals as their experimental subjects.
Environmental Psychology
Environmental Psychology focuses on the relationships between people and their physical and social surroundings, for example, the density of population and its effect on crime, air pollution, overcrowding and other harmful effects on the society.
Psychology of Women
This branch of Psychology focuses on women’s behaviour and development. It deals with a number of issues such as discrimination against women and the relationship between these problems and psychological factors.
Such psychological factors could include the structural differences in the brain of men and women, the effect of hormones on behaviour and many others
Admission requirements for Psychology in Nigeria
UTME entry-level requirements
Candidates for admission into the B.Sc programme for Psychology are required to have at least five credit passes at SSCE/NABTEB/NECO/GCE or any other equivalent O’ level examinations. Subjects must include Mathematics, English language, Biology/health science, and at least two other Social Science subjects from any of the following: Government, Economics, Geography, Civic Education and Social Studies.
Direct entry-level requirements
- Candidates seeking direct entry must have any of the qualifications below:
At least two A’ level passes in advanced level GCE or its equivalent in two of the following subjects: Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Business Management, Geography, History and English Literature in GCE/IJMB
- A Diploma from an accredited university in Nigeria.
All these in addition to UTME entry-level requirement.
- UTME subject combination includes the English language, two other subjects chosen from Economics, Government and Geography, in addition to any other subject from the Arts/Social Science/Science subject.
JAMB requirements vary from one institution to the other. Ensure you check out the school in which you want to study and their specific requirements.
General and Transferrable skills
Students of Physiology acquire skills which are transferrable to other professions. These include:
- Critical thinking and analytical skills.
- Abstract reasoning
- Knowledge of statistics
Career opportunities available for graduates of Psychology
As seen above in the various fields of Psychology, graduates can function in various capacities and in various roles. The following are some job roles for psychologists:
- Clinical psychologist
- Counselling psychologist
- Educational psychologist
- Forensic psychologist
- Further education teacher
- Health psychologist
- High-intensity therapist
- Occupational psychologist/ organizational Psychologist
- Neuropsychologist
- Primary care graduate mental health worker
- Mental Health Counselor
- Marriage and children’s therapy
- Teacher