Increasing Psychology Students' Satisfaction with Preparedness through a Professional Issues Course

Abstract

The current studies evaluated a capstone course, Professional Issues in Psychology, designed to prepare students for a career in psychology. The first study examined course topics and student evaluations of assignments across 4 terms. Overall, students reported that the assignments were very helpful. The second study found that students who had completed the course felt more satisfied with their preparation for graduate school and for entering the job market relative to a sample of graduating seniors who did not take the course. These results suggest that the course is associated with increased self-efficacy for entering the job market and applying to graduate school. Suggestions for developing a careers capstone course are discussed.

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