Psychology Master’s Degree Programs in Wyoming
Wyoming is hands-down the least populous state in the U.S. and the second least dense; a fact that has a real impact on the availability and accessibility of psychological services here.
With more than half the land in the state owned by either the state or federal governments, it’s no surprise that the public sector represents the biggest slice of employment in the state too. In fact, the University of Wyoming, the only campus-based option for earning a graduate degree in psychology, is also a likely place of employment for you after graduation since it’s the state’s number one employer.
Since Cheyenne and Casper are the only two towns to break 50,000 people, naturally they represent the centers of psychological practice in the state, but Laramie, Rock Springs, and Sheridan all offer vibrant social scenes and thriving economies too. Wyoming is a major center for resource extraction, and big businesses often have a need for psychology professionals in roles that vary from HR to industrial/organizational work.
It takes a certain kind of mindset to succeed in psychology in Wyoming, and there are a limited number of positions available in the state. But if you grew up here and love the big mountains and wide open spaces, it may be the only place you need to look for your dream degree. Still, the limited number of options and the proliferation of top-quality and fully accredited online programs from schools throughout the country, have made distance-based education a go-to option for psychology master’s students here.
One School, Many Choices for Psychology Master’s Degrees in Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is your only choice for an advanced degree in psychology in the Cowboy State, but it’s a school that has a lot of options in degree concentrations:
- Clinical Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Law and Psychology
The school has a whopping 13 different subject-specific laboratory groups, ranging from spatial cognition to trauma and sexual assault. You can find investigations into subject matter that you won’t get anywhere else in the country, such as research into suicides in the Mountain West region.
Wyoming Licensing Has Strict Standards That a Master’s Degree Will Help Satisfy
Wyoming only grants psychologist licenses to individuals who hold a doctorate from a program approved by the Wyoming Board of Psychology. Since you’ll need a master’s on your way to earning that doctoral degree, it will pay to check on the board’s current requirements before you dive in.
It’s also possible to become a licensed marriage and family therapist in Wyoming with an accredited master’s degree in MFT. School psychologists in Wyoming can also get by with only a master’s degree.
School Psychology Offers Broad Employment Opportunities in Wyoming
School systems are one of the major employers across the state, but they are far from concentrated… people have kids everywhere, and all of them deserve the best school psychologist services that can be provided.
For a school psychologist in the state, that means a lot of time spent looking at the business end of a steering wheel. Many have to serve schools in a wide geographic area, covering rural parts of the state where they may be the only psychological service provider for miles.
That means getting an education that truly covers all the bases, and at UW, you can take advantage of laboratories in Conceptual and Social-Cognitive Development and Attention and Learning to build your skills in dealing with school-age patients.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology is in Demand at Mines and Wells
Coal, diamonds, crude oil, natural gas, uranium, even wind power… Wyoming is a center for energy and resource extraction, drawing a heavily blue-collar and industrial workforce out onto the isolated plains and into the rugged mountains.
Isolation and heavy machinery can make for a lethal combination, which is why big businesses responsible for industrial sites in Wyoming pay top dollar to analyze and optimize their operations using industrial and organizational psychology.
I-O psychologists are often consultants working for specialist firms who see a wide variety of industrial organizations and job sites over their course of their career. It’s a challenging, lucrative, and exciting type of psychology to get into, and a master’s degree is all the qualification you need for most positions.
Wyoming is a challenging venue for psychologists but also a rewarding one, and earning your master’s degree here will put you into the community in a way that graduates from outside the state rarely achieve.