Final year undergraduate psychology students’ development of self-concept, personal perceptions of degree, career preference, readiness and perceived job prospects

There is an influx of job seekers in the current economic climate thus competition for a job tightens. This paper aims to identify psychology students’ development of self-concept, perceptions of their degree, their career preferences and perceived job prospects. This study employed instrumental case study design and open-ended interview questions to explore participants’ perceptions and opinions. Eight final year psychology students from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) were recruited through convenience sampling. The interview sessions were conducted through online virtual meetings. The transcribed interview was analysed using thematic analysis. The analysis resulted in three main themes and each theme has subthemes. The themes identified explained that students’ perceptions of their degree is characterized by the establishment of self-concept, personal growth, acquired academic and employability skills. Additionally, students’ career preferences and job prospects were influenced by their degree experiences. There are some suggestions made related to the policy and practices to improve psychology students’ job prospects