Career Aspirations of Psychology Students at a Rural Based University in South Africa

Abstract The current study explores the reasons for choosing degree programmes as career fields by university students. An ex post facto research design was used to conduct the study. Ten participants were purposefully selected from an institution of higher learning in South Africa. Data was collected through audio-taped individual semi-structured interviews with the participants. Content analysis was used to interpret and analyse the data. The major finding was that the participants chose psychology for various career motives. Gender differences in motives for the choice of psychology as a career were observed. Replication of the study with a larger sample of students from different institutions on diverse degree programmes is needed for generalisability purpose.