It is the second most required degree in Catalan public universities, behind Business Administration and Management
After years of taboos, mental health has entered society like a whirlwind at the hands of the pandemic. Never before have we talked so much, not only about psychological or psychiatric disorders and illnesses, but also about other ailments far from mental pathologies, such as emotions and suffering.
Professional psychologists have become disseminators thanks to social networks, various established writers have captured the ghosts of their brains in novels, and researchers write scientific essays to unravel how the brain works, how psychoactive drugs work and what a good psychotherapy University It has not been left out of the rise of mental health and has managed to pick up the gauntlet.
The grade of Psychology has become extremely popular with students. At least, in the Catalan public faculties, where the demand for places to study Psychology as the first option in the 2021-22 academic year was a 217% regarding the offers. Taking into account the enrollment The degree in Psychology is the second most in demand in the Catalan university system after Business Administration and Management. This is what the study reveals ‘Employment and university training in Psychology’, prepared by AQU Catalunyathe agency for the quality of the university system.
Faculties
The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the UB, Girona, Lleida, Rovira i Virgili and Vic offer Psychology studies. For this course, the cut-off mark exceeded 9 in all, except for Vic (7.08). According to the study ‘Data and figures of the Spanish university system’, the cut-off mark for Psychology in Spanish face-to-face universities has not stopped increasing since the 2015-16 academic year (7.83). In the year 2029-20, it was 8:30. The average grade of the academic record of Psychology graduates is 7.35, above the average for all races (7.26).
The rate of abandonment in Psychology studies it is 24%, a percentage that, according to the authors of the report, is explained mainly by the figures of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), which, by far, has the highest number of students enrolled: close to 65% of students.
The AQU report also notes the feminization of this type of higher education: eight out of ten students enrolled in Psychology (course 2020-21) are women. It is a trend that also occurs in other degrees, such as those related to education and social assistance.
In addition, future psychologists are shown quite satisfied with the teachings received in the faculty. So much so that nine out of ten would go back to study for a degree. The students are especially happy with the acquisition of communication and interpersonal skills, which are essential in the case of health psychologists, who are the only ones qualified to treat patients after having studied the specific master’s degree.
The report reveals that employers are generally satisfied with the skills of the psychologists they hire. It is a sector in which it costs less than in others to find professionals. However, in his opinion, recent graduates should improve precisely in communication and interpersonal skills.
practices fail
Despite the general satisfaction that students have with the program, there is one aspect that, in their opinion, should improve: the practices, to which they give a note of 6.4 out of 10. Many students seek internships on their own, without the help of the faculties, despite the fact that they are essential not only to obtain the degree but also to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in class to real and professional life. In any case, it is not that the rest of the students are fully satisfied with the practices. The average mark of the entire Catalan university system is 6.9.
After finishing the studies, dive into the world of work of psychology is something with more shadows than lights. The job placement indicators included in the report show that graduates earn less and have more precarious contracts than the rest of the graduates. After graduating, the average gross monthly salary is around 1,700 euros, 500 euros less than the average salary of the Catalan university system. Obviously, it all depends on the job. Sometimes, Psychology graduates do not get a job in their field and tend to perform non-university work functions and their insertion is of poorer quality.
According to the study, companies that hire recent Psychology graduates request, above all, skills related to new technologies, psychotherapy, adaptation to change, research, as well as everything related to the psychological impact of the pandemic.