What students find helpful about 'Psychology as a Profession': a thematic analysis of career development reflections

Author

• Doga Ocal, The University of Tennessee at ChattanoogaFollow

Project Director

Walker, Ruth

Department Examiner

O'Leary, Brian J.

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Many undergraduate students struggle with making decisions related to their majors. They report not feeling confident in their knowledge of potential career paths related to their field of study. Only a small percentage of students are aware of the availability of career services at their universities, and a smaller percentage of students actually use those services. After taking career-focused courses, students reported feeling more confident and informed about their career decisions and the opportunities available. Research shows that career-exploration classes have the largest effect on career outcomes when compared to other career interventions. The purpose of the present study is to identify what students find helpful about a psychology career-focused course. I conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of survey responses we collected with four open-ended questions presented to 225 undergraduate students from a large public university in the southeastern United States who were enrolled in a mandatory career-focused course, PSY 2070, Psychology as a Profession. My analysis categorized perceived benefits into four themes: Career Pathways, Developing a Career Pathways, Course-Specific Feedback, and Developing Professionalism.

IRB Number

24-139

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

5-2026

Subject

Psychology--Vocational guidance; Career development--Study and teaching (Higher); Undergraduate students--Attitudes

Keyword

career development; psychology majors; psychology education; reflexive thematic analysis; professional development; career preparation

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

Theses

Extent

i, 36 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Date Available

12-31-2027

Recommended Citation

Ocal, Doga, "What students find helpful about 'Psychology as a Profession': a thematic analysis of career development reflections" (2026). Honors Theses.
https://scholar.utc.edu/honors-theses/703