Useful certifications for psych BA?

[EileanDonan]

Hello everyone,

As I'm working on building up my resume for grad apps, I've been wondering if there are any certifications that anyone would suggest for boosting my future employability/appeal to grad schools? I'm pretty open to suggestions, whether it be research, clinical, coding, or other.

Any thoughts appreciated!

[CozyD]

I don't think there are any particular certifications that are especially helpful for getting into psych grad programs. You'd probably be better off focusing your time/energy on research experience and presentations/publications. Like, even if you already have some of that stuff, whatever time you might spend on a certification would be better spent trying to get more of that stuff. That said:

If you're leaning towards a coding or data heavy field of psych, you might consider some kind of coding or data science certificate. Though I don't know if anyone will really care about it being a "certification" beyond that being a simple way to express that you have some knowledge of the material.

If you're interested in doing clinical work, you could get certified as a crisis counselor or domestic/sexual violence advocate. There are lots of programs that do about 40 hours of training and certify you in exchange for you agreeing to then volunteer with them. That volunteer experience is actually probably going to be more helpful for your apps than the certificate. 

I imagine there might also be some certificates that might be relevant to some specific fields/interests.