Program Overview
Psychology is the study of the human mind. It helps us figure out how people think and what makes them act the way they do by looking at their feelings, memories, experiences, fears, and goals. By putting these studies into a social context, we can learn more about various psychological behaviours, problems, and illnesses and how to deal with them.
By studying psychology, we can learn how “reality” can differ for different people. This shows how human behaviour affects communication, feelings, decision-making, language, motivation, and how people get along. Then we can see if a trait is something you were born with or got from outside influences and experiences.
Psychology’s primary goals are to describe, explain, predict, and change other people’s actions and thoughts. Psychologists may be able to change and improve how we act if they figure out why we do what we do. Since psychology became a separate field of study, it has grown into many specialities. Now, at least 56 divisions are recognised. Helping evaluate and measure behaviour and use psychological knowledge to improve processes, product sales, and systems.
Courses and Specialisations for Psychology in Malaysia
Within psychology, there are many different subfields that you can study in Malaysia. During the course of your program, you will learn various skills and techniques that will help you navigate your field of education. Some of the major skills that you can expect to learn will be:
- Apply problem-solving critical skills to complex issues
- Understand psychological functioning
- React and relate appropriately with others in social groups and teams
- Efficiently organise your workload and caseload
Depending on which side of the spectrum you are interested in, you can choose a particular specialisation to help you become a specialist in that psychology field. Here are some of the major branches of psychology you could study if you get a degree in psychology.
Clinical Psychology in Malaysia
Clinical psychology will teach you how to diagnose and treat mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders. Likewise, your courses will focus on techniques to work with patients in a therapeutic setting. These courses might include Biopsychology, Cognitive Psychology, and Clinical Practice. On a day-to-day basis, your work might vary. If you’ve just gotten new patients, you might use various methods to make diagnoses, including interviews, psychological testing, and observation.
After making a diagnosis, you would develop treatment plans that may include individual or group therapy, medication, or other interventions. This might be your career path if you want to work directly with patients. Not only that, but clinical psychologists work with patients of all ages, from children to adults.
Counselling Psychology in Malaysia
Counselling psychology is very similar to clinical psychology because you’ll learn about providing therapeutic treatments to help patients deal with specific problems. Courses you take when pursuing a counselling psychology branch of a psychology degree might include Counseling Theories, Social Diversity in Counseling, or even Marriage and Family Therapy.
You might work as a counselling psychologist in private practices, hospitals, clinics, and schools. Your main goal would be to provide ongoing counselling to those struggling with traumatic events. While counselling psychologists do not prescribe medication, they may work closely with psychiatrists and other medical professionals to coordinate care for their clients.
Educational Psychology in Malaysia
Educational psychology studies how people learn in educational settings and the effectiveness of educational interventions. Your courses might include Psychology in Schools, The Social Psychology of Education, and Development and Childhood. During these courses, you’ll learn about people’s psychological development from early childhood through adulthood.
After graduating, you’d likely work in a school. For example, you might work with students with learning disabilities, help teachers design instruction, or develop new ways to measure student achievement. It’s important to note that educational psychologists often specialise in a particular area, such as cognitive development or motivation.
Forensic Psychology in Malaysia
Interested in solving crimes? Taking a forensic psychology course might be right for you. During these courses, you might learn about how eyewitness testimony can be influenced by stress or anxiety. If classes such as Psychology and Law or Criminal Profiling sound intriguing, this might be the right branch of psychology for you. Your day-to-day work will likely be exciting as well. You’d primarily work with clients who have been accused of crimes and victims of crime.
Forensic psychologists often conduct psychological evaluations to assess mental state during a crime and determine competency to stand trial. As a forensic psychologist, you may also have to provide testimony in court. Or, you could have to provide consultation to lawyers, law enforcement, and other professionals.
Why Study in Malaysia
Global Recognition
Over the last few decades, Malaysia has firmly positioned itself as the premier international destination for students to study. Strong international collaborations with other global universities, academic bodies, accreditation boards and research institutes ensure that psychology degree programs in Malaysia are fully recognised worldwide.
World Class Infrastructure
Malaysia is known for its excellent and well-built infrastructure in the region. The country offers some of the best healthcare facilities. The country has poured millions of dollars to develop modern healthcare facilities. These facilities, in turn, attract healthcare professionals worldwide, resulting in a fast-growing ecosystem. Several leading Malaysian universities have invested in and developed state-of-the-art labs where students are trained with the latest tools and technologies that ensure the teaching methodologies and techniques are up-to-date with the global benchmarks.
Great Value
Malaysian universities provide unrivalled value. The cost-to-quality ratio in Malaysian universities is hard to come by anywhere else. The quality of education you receive is as competitive as you will receive in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia or Canada. However, the cost of education in Malaysia is a lot lower.
International Environment
Malaysia offers a unique value to international students. Students from over 120 countries have chosen to study psychology in Malaysia. This allows every student to study in a truly globalised environment, where students can interact with other counterparts and learn academically and grow in personal development.
New Technologies
Universities have invested a great deal in developing innovative healthcare institutions where students can learn what the future of psychology will be like. Rather than being limited to learning from books, universities have invested in newer technologies, making the learning experience much more enjoyable and exciting.
Gateway of The World
Malaysia indeed acts as a gateway to the world for students. Young school graduates are moulded into professionals ready for the global world. With a safe and healthy learning atmosphere, students are nurtured in an international environment to compete globally.
Affordable Course Fees
The fee required to complete psychology in Malaysia is comparatively less than that required in many other countries, such as the USA, the UK, Australia, and Canada, to name just a few. With health sciences degree expenses shooting up worldwide, Malaysia comes across as a reliable option to receive a high-quality education at an affordable cost.
Globally Recognised Degrees
A degree in psychology in Malaysia universities enjoys global recognition. Psychology in Malaysia allows students to pursue the program in Malaysia and then move anywhere globally. Several students continue their master’s and specialisation in Malaysia or transfer to other countries to pursue different pathways.
International Education Standard
The standard of psychology in Malaysia meets international standards. This ensures exceptional education for students who enrol in this course. The course curriculum is rigorously developed, keeping in line with international benchmarks to ensure students learn the latest developments in psychology in Malaysia.
Excellent Campus Facilities and Infrastructure
Malaysia offers excellent campus facilities, modern infrastructure, and innovative teaching aids for psychology in Malaysia. The schools in Malaysia offer a great learning atmosphere. Several leading universities offering bachelor’s in psychology in Malaysia have developed in-house labs and testing facilities dedicated to helping students learn with hands-on experience, operate with state-of-the-art machinery, and stay up to date with the latest innovations.
Career Prospects
The jobs you can get with a psychology degree will depend on your specialization and level of education and experience.
Remember that to become a psychologist, you’ll need a master’s degree. This is the case in most countries globally. However, what kinds of jobs can you get with a psychology degree?
- Career Counsellor
- Social Worker
- Human Resources Specialist
- Case Manager
Once you get your master’s degree, job opportunities open up even more. With that extra degree, you can also earn more money.
Salary
If you decide to pursue a master’s degree, how much can you expect to make as a psychologist after your study abroad program in Malaysia?
It all depends on your experience, speciality, and location. Psychologists with extensive experience can expect to earn the highest salaries.
Likewise, it will depend on where you decide to work. For example, salaries in the United States, Canada, and the UK vary greatly.
The average salary for a psychologist in the US is currently just under $100,000. However, those living in cities like Tampa, New York, or San Diego can earn between $180,000 to over $224,000 per year.
Salaries are comparable in places like Canada but can be even more. Reports show that the average clinical psychologist’s salary in Canada is currently just over USD $276,000.
Program Duration
The duration to study psychology in Malaysia is three years for the bachelor’s program. English is the medium of instruction followed in health sciences schools across all major international private universities. The first year will have several common subjects between different health sciences specialisations.
As students progress to years two and three, their modules and subjects will become more specialised as per their field of choice. Students can sometimes switch from one health sciences specialisation to another. However, it will require approval from the university faculty and the relevant higher education authorities in Malaysia.
Students who want to opt for program transfers to another university will usually need to prepare the transfer paperwork and start processing from their second year onwards to ensure all the paperwork and approvals are in place so the program transfer can be done.
Those interested in becoming licensed psychologists must earn a master’s degree in a specialised field following their bachelor’s degree. This can take anywhere between one to three years, depending on your courses and the university you attend.
Entry Requirements
The Malaysian qualifications agency sets the entry requirements and guidelines for university admissions in Malaysia, which all universities must adhere to. As minimum entry requirements are set by the Malaysian qualification agency, all international students must meet those requirements, as these guidelines will be considered during the application approval by the Ministry of education. Universities are also at liberty to increase the entry requirements to ensure that the students can cope well with the program curriculum. So international students are advised to check and confirm with their admission advisor the entry requirements for the university they are planning to join.
Common Entry Requirements:
- A-Level: 2Es
- Australian Matriculation: ATAR 60
- Diploma: CGPA 2.00
- Foundation in Arts or Science
For most programs, you will also need a minimum of 3C’s in science and mathematics and a passing score in English to study psychology in Malaysia.
English Language
International students who wish to study psychology in Malaysia will need to also provide proof of their English language proficiency with IELTS or TOEFL exams. Students who have studied the British or American curriculum are generally exempted from the English proficiency requirements since the medium of instruction for that curriculum is in English by default.
Students who have studied other curriculums, where the medium of instruction is also English will usually need to provide a supporting letter from the school stating that the instruction language for their schooling has been English. With that letter, English language requirements are proven to have been completed.
Fees & Cost
Students sometimes only look at the tuition fee during the comparison. However, depending on how forthright and clearly the fee guidelines from the university are, the extra fees can be a hefty amount that could be a surprise. So students are advised to correctly add all the fees and decide which university fits their budget requirements to study psychology in Malaysia.
Various factors will contribute to the overall cost structure, such as:
- Tuition fees
- Accommodation fees
- Admission fee
- Registration and Visa fees and
- Other one-time fees.
These fees vary from university to university and can depend on varying factors. Some universities of a single degree programme, while others offer dual degree programmes from partner universities around the world. The quality, infrastructure, facilities and teacher-to-student ratio will also determine how much a university charges.
You must find the right balance between quality and cost to ensure you get the best possible education. The average cost to get a psychology degree in Malaysia is currently between about RM60,000 to RM120,000 for a three-year honours degree programme.
For reference, that’s around USD $12,000 to $27,000 for a 3-year psychology degree program at the current exchange rate.
Accommodation
Another recurring expenditure for international students is the cost of housing. In general, students can choose between staying in private accommodation or the on-campus accommodation that the university provides. Expenses will vary depending on your location and the university you enrol in.
Generally, on-campus accommodations at major universities start at around US$150 per month and can go up to $400 per month. The pricing for on-campus accommodation is determined by the size of the room, whether a student will be sharing the room or will be staying alone, or if the student is taking a master room which generally comes with an attached bathroom or decides to stay at a shared room with shared bathroom.
Some universities also offer cooking facilities on the on-campus accommodation and shared facilities that will be factored into the accommodation costs. Utility costs are generally an add-on fee.
While choosing the university, you can check with your admissions advisor on the options available for accommodation and how much they will cost so that you have an idea of how much of a monthly budget you will require as a student.
Admission Procedure
Researching, applying and managing overseas admissions is tedious, time-consuming and often confusing. Incorrect application submissions can lead to lengthy processing, delayed approvals, or rejections. You can visit education, exhibitions and fairs to collect information. However, that is not enough. You can only collect cursory information; admission processing will usually take longer. During that time, you will need consistent and dedicated support to ensure your application is in the right experienced hands.
This is where we help.
Edmates helps international students from around the world with complete admissions procedures. Our integrated one-stop centre helps international students with everything. We help you find future-driven programs that match your abilities and interests in leading universities.
We handle the entire process from the beginning until you have joined the university. Our international support system will manage everything for you, absolutely free.
Each student is assigned a dedicated admission advisor who will guide the student throughout the admissions process. The advisor will also liaise with the university admissions department to ensure clear communications and faster processing.
You can speak with your assigned advisor anytime by booking a free call online through the website. You will also receive regular updates regarding your application via emails, SMS and WhatsApp.
To learn about each step of the admission process, you can read our complete guide to start applying for your higher education the right way.