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Psychology, the study of the human mind and its influence on human behaviour, is a profession that is greatly in demand in the modern world. Child Psychology is one of the branches of psychology which deals with the subconscious and conscious development of a child from birth to adolescence. Learning about how a child views their growing world, and mentoring these proceedings for the betterment of a child’s growth has become a sought after field for further study. Hence, there is an array of opportunities by pursuing a course in child psychology. This blog explains what is child psychology and how to become a child psychologist.
What is Child Psychology
Child psychology is a specialised branch of psychology that deals with children and adolescents, mainly their development and behaviour. It aims to understand the first 12-14 years of a child from birth to adolescence and keeps a close check on how a child develops, not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. It studies the growth graph of going from prenatal to adolescence which for each child will be unique and different. Child psychologists are consulted in case of behavioural and emotional challenges faced by children and they work with children to help diagnose and help resolve issues that cause emotional or behavioural problems. Child Psychology is important as it helps parents better understand their children and provide children with the care they might need.
Also Read: Courses And Psychology Study
Courses in Child Psychology
Child psychology deals with learning about children and their physical and psychological development. In order to pursue child psychology as a career, you would have to earn a bachelors and masters degree in psychology. You would have to follow the career path given below:
Complete your Schooling
First, complete your 10+2 or equivalent. Taking psychology as a subject proves to be useful as it gives a general insight into what psychology is. It helps you choose whether or not you want to pursue psychology as a profession.
Bachelors
To kickstart your career as a child psychologist, you have to first pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology. BA (Hons) Or BA in Psychology is a 3-year degree program. In case you want to be a psychiatrist, you would have to attend medical school and earn a bachelor’s degree in health sciences, biology, pre-med, or a related field.
Masters
To become a child psychologist, a minimum of a master’s degree is required. You can choose to specialise in child psychology, developmental psychology, abnormal psychology, or adolescent psychology. It could be a MA degree or an MSc Degree, which is a 2-year course.
Find an Internship
While studying, you can look for internships and work opportunities. These prove beneficial as they help you gain practical experience and can lead directly into jobs and networking opportunities, as well as strengthen your qualifications. You can intern or volunteer at a mental health institution, a hospital, a private clinic, a social organisation, or a research facility.
Doctorate
To advance to better positions, psychologists need a doctorate degree as a professional with a PhD is given preference. You can choose to either focus on pursuing a PhD, which focuses on research, or a Psy.D., which focuses on clinical practice. If you didn’t specialise in child psychology at the masters level, you can specialise in it while pursuing your doctorate.
Also Read: BA Psychology: Course Details
Top Universities offering Child Psychology
Here’s a list of the top 20 universities in the world on the basis of psychology as a subject (QS World Ranking 2021)
| University | QS World Ranking 2021 | Location |
| Harvard University | 3 | Cambridge, United States |
| Stanford University | 2 | Stanford, United States |
| University of Oxford | 5 | Oxford, United Kingdom |
| University of Cambridge | 7 | Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| The University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | 30 | Berkeley, United States |
| The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | 36 | Los Angeles, United States |
| Yale University | 17 | New Haven, United States |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 21 | Ann Arbor, United States |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 1 | Cambridge, United States |
| UCL | 10 | London, United Kingdom |
| University of Pennsylvania | 16 | Philadelphia, United States |
| Columbia University | 19 | New York City, United States |
| New York University (NYU) | 35 | New York City, United States |
| University of Chicago | 9 | Chicago, United States |
| University of Amsterdam | 61 | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| National University of Singapore (NUS) | 11 | Singapore, Singapore |
| University of British Columbia | 45 | Vancouver, Canada |
| Princeton University | 12 | Princeton, United States |
| University of Toronto | 25 | Toronto, Canada |
| King’s College London | 31 | London, United Kingdom |
Cost of Studying Child Psychology
The average annual cost ost of pursuing child psychology at different levels and different countries is given below:
| Country | Undergraduate | Postgraduate |
| India | Rs20,000 – Rs2,50,000 | Rs10,000 – Rs3,00,000 |
| USA | $20,000 – $40,000 (INR 14.5-30 lakhs) | $25,000 – $60,000 (INR 18.5-45 lakhs) |
| Canada | C$20,000 – C$60,000 (INR 11.6 lakhs – INR 30.04 lakhs) | C$18,000 – C$48,000 (INR 9.5 lakhs – INR 28.3 lakhs) |
| UK | £20,000 – £30,000 (INR 20-30 lakhs) | £25,000 – £40,000 (INR 25-40 lakhs) |
| Australia | $30,000 and $36,000 (~INR 15-18 lakhs) | $33,700 and $42,000 (~INR 17-22 lakhs) |
Salary and Scope of Child Psychology
Child psychologists are employed in private practices, court and legal systems, daycares, elementary and secondary schools, government organizations, hospitals, mental health facilities or research facilities. After pursuing child psychology, individuals can be employed as:
- Rehabilitation counselor
- Recreation therapist
- Special education teacher
- School counselor
- School psychologist
- Child life specialist
- Social worker
- Family therapist
- Occupational therapist
- Psychologist
- Speech-language pathologist
The average base salary of a child psychologist in India is Rs 3-6 lakhs per year. Let’s examine the average salary of a Child Psychologist around the world:
| Country | Average Annual Salary (Estimated) |
| USA | $37,000 – $200,000 (INR 2754514 – INR 14889270) |
| Canada | C$55,000 – C$89,000 (INR 3205838 – INR 5187630) |
| UK | £35,000 to £70,000 (INR 35 lakhs- INR70 lakhs ) |
| Australia | AU$44,000 – AU$130,000 (INR 2349010 – INR 6940259) |
| New Zealand | $50,000 – $100,000 (INR 3723175 – INR 7446350) |
FAQs
A child psychologist studies the learning patterns, environmental factors and behavioural developments that may affect children from infancy into their adolescence. They evaluate, diagnose, intervene to help children facing behavioural and emotional challenges.
Child Psychology covers five basic areas, which are, Development (physical, emotional and social), Milestones in a child’s life ( physical, cognitive, social, emotional and language), Behaviour, Emotions and Socialisation.
The growth and development of a child are unique and is affected by different external and internal factors. Child psychology is important as it helps to understand all these factors and that the societal definition of normal is irrelevant. It is useful in assisting both parents and teachers to better understand children and their psychological processes.
A child psychologist should be empathetic, patient, have excellent observation, communication and listening abilities, be able to do an analytical evaluation, problem-solving and should be organised.
The role and responsibilities of a child psychologist include evaluating and conducting a psychological assessment to diagnose the cause of the problem, intervening by developing individualised treatment plans, collaborating with family members and educating them to help children in their care.
If you are planning to study child psychology or any other branches of psychology from abroad then Leverage Edu has all the required services for you. To know more about our study abroad services call us anytime at 1800 572 000!
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