Exploring the Underrepresentation of Men in the Psychology Degree Programme

The number of people enrolling for psychology degree programmes is growing, yet men continue to be outnumbered by women. At school, boys and girls take the same subjects in similar numbers. After completing high school education, many boys and girls go to universities to pursue degree programmes of their choice. However, fewer men than women pursue psychology as a career field. The exploratory study sought to investigate the underrepresentation of men in psychology at a Historically Black University. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The study revealed that gender-stereotypes influence male students to shun psychology. The findings of the study would help the University and Heads of Psychology Department to understand the underrepresentation of men in their psychology degree programmes.