Courses in Psychology after 12th in India

Courses in Psychology after 12th in India

“Have you ever been interested in knowing why people behave the way they do?” 

If yes, then psychology is a career option for you. 

Psychology is the study of organism’s behaviour and mental processes. Because Psychology studies human behaviour it fascinates students from all kinds of stream. Generally in Indian curriculum psychology is provided as part of Humanities stream or as an additional subject to science and commerce students. 

Many students consider taking further studies in psychology after their 12th. Even CBSE 2018 topper Meghna Srivastava who scored 499 out of 500 wants to pursue psychology honours. The number of people opting for psychology isincreasing now than it was in past. Also more number of institutions have started providing psychology courses now. For instance- in University of Delhi the number of colleges that were providing psychology courses were less than 15 but now many DU colleges have started offering psychology course. One such example is Bharti college of university of Delhi in Janak Puri which has started psychology course in 2016. 

But many students lack authentic knowledge and right guidance with respect to the suitable courses available to them. Thus they either end up taking courses which they are not interested in or end up taking a psychology course in fake or unauthenticated institutes. 

This article thus provides a comprehensive knowledge of various courses available in psychology in India which students can take up after their 12th. Thereby clearing many doubts and helping students and their parents take an informed decision. 

Page Contents

Under-Graduate courses

Diploma courses

Certificate courses

1. Under-Graduate courses  

Generally most students opt for under-graduate degree programs from universities. An under-graduate program is usually a 3 year degree course in India. Students learn in depth about the subject matter of psychology and about its various branches.   

Students can opt for either B.A. (pass) with specialisation in psychology and one other subject of their choice or they can opt for B.A. (Hons) Psychology in which they specialise only in Psychology but in greater depth. 

The major difference between B.A. (PASS) with Psychology and B.A. (HONS) Psychology.

B.A. (PASS) with Psychology	B.A. (HONS) Psychology
Psychology is one of the subject you choose to study apart from it you will have to choose any other subject also like English, History, Political Science, etc.	Psychology is the only subject that you will be studying in depth.
In Pass course half of the papers are of psychology and half are of other subjects.	In Honours course all the papers are of psychology. So for instance there are total 14 papers in 3 years of your course that you have to study for passing your bachelor’s degree, in honours course you will study all 14 subjects of psychology however in B.A. (Pass) you will study 7 papers of psychology and 7 of other subject that you opted along with psychology.  Thus you study more papers of psychology in honours course than in pass course.
Students who are confused between two of their favourite subjects generally choose pass course thus they get to study both of their favourite subjects.	Students who are sure that they want to make a career in psychology choose honours course.
The number of seats for pass courses are more in colleges as compared to honours courses. So likelihood of admission in pass course increases in case you are not qualifying the admission requirement in honours course.	The number of seats are less comparatively and admission criteria is little strict in honours course as compared to pass course. So you need to get more marks or qualify an entrance test to take admission in honours course.
Unfortunately pass course students are taken less seriously by faculty and universities because of large number of seats available in this course and comparatively easy admission criteria, thereby likely to get less exposure and opportunities to the subject matter of psychology.	Students in honours course get more exposure and opportunity to the subject matter of psychology. As there are dedicated departments in colleges for honours courses that are continually engaged in research work and organises seminars and workshops in specialised areas of psychology.

Hence, if you are sure that only psychology interests you, it’s better you opt only for B.A. (H) Psychology. Also if you are sure that you want to make a career in psychology then also you must opt for honours course. 

However if you are confused between subjects and career then choosing pass course is a good option. 

Also if you are sure about making a career in psychology but you are not getting admission anywhere in honours course then its also good to opt for pass course with psychology, if you are getting one, because with pass course also you can major in psychology with your preferred specialisation.  

2. Diploma courses

Diploma courses are generally of one year to two year courses provided majorly by open and private universities. 

These courses can be provided in regular as well as distance mode. 

They are usually provided in annual mode- that means examinations will take place once in a year and not twice like in semester mode. 

These course are either very general or very specific depending upon the type of diploma course it is. It can be simple diploma course which provides basic knowledge of psychology and some of its core branches. It can be specific diploma course which do not provide much of general knowledge but about specific course content. For example- diploma in clinical psychology will focus majorly on disorders, therapies, and research methods in clinical psychology. 

Diploma courses provide basic and very specific knowledge of subject matter that can be used in specific sector of work. Thus those students who do not want to study major further in life and want to enter into the workforce quit early in life opt for diploma courses. Remember that the type of job you get after diploma is different from what you get after degree course. 

The fees of degree course and diploma course of government colleges do not vary much thus money shall not be the criteria for choosing diploma over degree. In any case degree course is better than diploma course if you want to study further and in depth about the subject. 

Some students opt for diploma after graduation which enhances their knowledge in specific field simultaneously let options of further studies open for future. 

Also some students pursue both degree and diploma together. But to pursue both at same time one of the course should be from distance mode, either degree or diploma.   

Thus choose to purse diploma alone when you are sure of your future goals. However there is no bar on age for studying therefore option of studying bachelors will always remain open till certain age if  you not sure of it now. 

3. Certificate courses 

Certificate courses are the very specific courses. They are generally of the duration of 6 months. They provide narrow knowledge on chosen topic. 

Students choose these courses for the purpose of skill up-gradation and enhancing the weightage of their Bio-Data. Or people who want to keep on learning new things in life usually do certificate course. 

Monetary or time limitation also attracts students towards certificate courses. 

It's very less likely to get job just on the basis of certificate course.   

Mention in comment section if you want to know about various universities in Delhi-NCR that provide under-graduate degree in Psychology.