Postgraduate Study

Stage two of the process is often an M.Sc in Psychology (1-2 yrs). This hasn't always been in case, but it is becoming something that more and more students are doing as it helps to prepare you for a PhD. Again, it is useful, but not essential, to have a parapsychological component to this. This can involve doing an MSc by Research in Psychology (as I did), or an MSc in Research Methods can be equally useful. Alternatively there are a couple of new MSc's in Parapsychology (Coventry University) or Transpersonal Psychology and Consciousness Studies (Northampton University and Liverpool John Moores University) which may also be of interest. Some researchers have also come from other areas of psychology, so other MSc's programs, such as those in Cognitive Science, etc, might also prove useful.

Stage three of the process is a PhD in Psychology (3+ yrs). This is generally examining a parapsychological topic, usually supervised by a parapsychologist at one of the main U.K. (or abroad) universities. There are also quite a number of parapsychologists that did all of their degrees in psychology with no parapsychological components to them. Or even in totally different areas, such as physics or philosophy, who then started to get into parapsychology and do research in it later on in their careers. This approach can potentially increase your chances of getting employment, but it can be very frustrating if you are interested in doing research in parapsychology at the earliest possible stage.

As can be seen, there is quite a lot of training involved in becoming a "parapsychologist". This is mainly because parapsychology is almost totally academic in nature, which means working at a university. The only real option to work at a university is to have a Ph.D, as it is becoming increasingly unlikely to get employment without one.

I don't mean to depress or intimidate students who want to follow this career - I just want to make sure that they have as much information as possible so that they can make the right decisions. Obviously, students need to take all of this one step at a time. Concentrate on what you are doing at any one time. So the first stage for would be to get your B.Sc in Psychology, which will stand you in good stead if whether you decide to go in parapsychology or to do something else.