Hello,

An IPS officer and a Psychologist, both career choices are poles apart but somehow you can pursue them both but to do them at the same time, the government has made a law that no government servant can engage directly or indirectly in any trade or business, or take any other employment while in service. However, he may be allowed to associate with the charity work of NGOs and other organizations for the welfare of society. 

So, if you are thinking of opening your own clinic or to work at any place while being an IPS, the answer is probably no. But if you want to just practice as a psychologist then you can work in an NGO or other social welfare organizations.

Now coming to how to become IPS officer and Psychologist,

1) IPS OFFICER

To become an IPS, you need to give the UPSC exam.

Eligibility for appearing for the IPS exam-

• A candidate must be a citizen of India

• The candidates must hold a degree from recognized university in any discipline. The candidates appearing for final degree exam can also apply for Civil Services Preliminary Examination. Candidates with an equivalent to a professional and technical degree that is recognized by the Government can also apply.

• The candidate must be between the age of 21-32 years (for the General category candidate) on August 1 of the year of examination. 

For Other Backward Castes (OBC) the upper age limit is 35. For Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the limit is 37 years.

The upper age limit is relaxed for certain candidates who are backward with respect to other factors and physically handicapped (PH) people.

  Physical Ability

• Height: Minimum height of 165 centimeters is necessary for male candidates while minimum height for ST/SC/OBC candidates is 160 centimeters. 

• Chest and Eye Sight: For male candidates of all the categories, they must have the chest of 84 centimeters. Eyesight should be between 6/6 and 6/9 and candidates who have weak eyesight must at least have 6/12 and 6/9.

Written Examination

To become an IPS officer, the foremost level of this procedure is to qualify the Civil Services Examination (CSE). Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) organizes Civil Services exam every year which happens in 3 sessions, Preliminary, Mains, and Interview. So, candidates who aspire for this position, have to clear all the rounds of Civil Services exam. 

(Psychology is also one of the optional subjects in Mains which you can opt for)

Every year, the selection process will begin in the month of June with preliminary and conclude in April. The final merit list for the CSE will be released in May.

After clearing prelims, mains and being selected in the interview, you will be provided 2-year training in the national institute. On completion of training, you finally become an IPS officer.

2) PSYCHOLOGIST

With just your Bachelors degree in psychology, you can work as a career counselor or as child caretaker but to become an expert psychologist (such as clinical psychologist, research psychologist, etc.), you need to you will need to cover up the entire degree level, i.e. Bachelor in Psychology, post-graduation degree and the Ph.D. degree. You can opt for following courses in the psychology field-

Bachelors Courses (Three Year duration):

• B. Sc in Psychology

• BA (Hons) in Psychology

• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Master Courses (Two Year duration):

• Master of Arts in Psychology

• Master of Arts in Applied Psychology

• Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology

• M. Sc in Psychology

Doctoral Courses:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology

• M.Phil. in Psychology

I hope this helps. If you have any other doubt or query, feel free to ask.

All the best!

Dear Candidate,

If you wish to be a clinical psychologist, you have to pursue Maters in Psychology, even if you do not have a graduation degree in the same. Unlike the other branches of psychology like counselling psychology, industrial psychology, etc., in clinical psychology it is mandatory to pursue MPhil in clinical psychology that will give you the license to practice in India. Remember, the MPhil must be done only from the RCI recognised institutes of India.

Hey.

Here is a list of various colleges to pursue a course in Psychology-

Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi

St Xaviers, Mumbai

Christ University, Bangalore

Jesus & Mary College, New Delhi

Kamla Nehru College, New Delhi

IP College for Women, Delhi 

Fregusson College, Pune

Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

Jamia Milia Islamia

NIMHANS

Best of luck

A career of clinical psychologist can be considered good but it has its own challenges. Strenuous work hours in the hospitals or clinics where you have to deal with the patients who are struggling in different ways. Their condition can sometimes affect the practitioner itself. But you get the satisfaction of helping and improving some one's life who has come with lots of hope to you. The profession may seem financially challenging at start but if you have good practical knowledge, experience and passion to strive ahead, you can do wonders even in terms of earning.

Hope this helps!

How to become a psychologist?

Must graduate 12th. It would be helpful and preferable if one of the subjects was psychology.  After that you have to do either a BA or a BSc in psychology degree. The curriculum mainly consists of personality development, psychotherapy, stress management etc. if psychology was a paper of yours un school then you will have a good base and it will be easier to grasp the concepts. After your bachelors you can go for masters and specialize. For this you mainly have three options ; MA or MSc in psychology, social work or counselling. After that you can take your phd or mphil. But the studying process involves a lot of research and case studies. A lot of internships also have to be undertaken in order to be a good psychologist.

The P.HD  and MA/MSc program is centered around a lot of research. This makes you capable to pursue a career in research or teaching. The graduate degrees are inclined more towards actual practice like counselling. There are mainly two kinds of psychologists, clinical and counselling. To be a counselling psychologist a degree in BA or BS in psychology is sufficient. A degree in education of social work will also be a good alternative. But to be a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist you need to have an MBBS degree. The difference is that only a clinical psychologist can prescribe medicines.

Duration of studies

BA/BSc in psychology is a 3-year degree program. Post graduate or masters is a 2 year program Graduate. MPhil or Phd programs are generally 2 years long but they can extend up to many years depending on the kind of study and research involved

Skills required

Not everybody can make a good psychologist. First and foremost a psychologist should have empathy. They must understand the difference between empathy, sympathy and intellectual understanding. They should employ empathy while dealing with patients. They also have to be analytical so as to diagnose the problem. They should also be able to communicate really well to the patients. The patients should also feel like confiding in the psychologist and opening up. Only then can the psychologist identify the problem and then help them through therapy. Patience is also an important requirement. Some patients can be difficult to deal with. A psychologist should also be nonjudgmental. The patient should feel that they are in a space where they will not be judged.

Being a psychologist is truly a very challenging profession. It takes years of painstaking research, practice and hard work to be one.

Dear Candidate,

If you are planning to study psychology in Delhi, then the available options are as follows:

University of Delhi

Ambedkar University

GGSIPU

Jamia Milia Islamia

St Catherine Institute of Management and Technology, etc.

Hey,

So as you want to become a psychologist , you must first earn  B.A. / B.sc Degree in Psychology or in liberal arts(in libersal arts you must have psychology as a major subject ). After completing a graduation course who must apply for M.A. in psychology.

After your 12th , you can apply in many colleges for taking for B.A/ B.Sc like-

• Delhi University
• Mumbai univerity
• O.P.Jindal Univeristy and many more 

As per the eligibility the candidates have passed their Graduation from Shivaji University, The admission will be based on the merit list based on the Graduation score. The chandidates have qualified the exam from the other university need to appear the entrance Exam conducted by Shivaji University.

There is no any exact syllabus mentioned, As per the official notification released by the university, the questions in the entrance test will be based on the syllabus of qualifying degree. The first year syllabus will have 10% weightage, the second year syllabus will have 10% weightage, and the third year syllabus will have 80% syllabus.

Good Luck!

Hello Tanushree,

Physology is a study of human behaviour.Psychologist is a very good as well as noble job.To get the good perk and recognition,students are require to pursue Higher degree from recognised institute.There are very good scope of this profession all over the world.Institute such as DU,BHU,AMU,JMI,etc provides grauation,post graduation and docrate degree in psycology.To know more more about Psychology scope,colleges,etc follow this link: https://youtu.be/1PV_FJv3yIs

To know more about clinical psychologist follow this link:https://youtu.be/otgWrXgb8dI

Hope this helps you.If any queries left comment below.