A problem for students of psychology in the twenties or thirties was the fact that there was really no qualification for professional activity outside the university. The only possibility was a doctorate, for which psychology was often not recognized as an independent subject. By the end of the thirties the growing demand for professional psychologists created pressure for academic training that prepared for these professional activities. The contradiction between the two was overcome by introducing an examination to confirm the ability or entitlement to exercise a profession. A prerequisite, of course, was some consensus about the scientific training necessary.

The DPO for psychology in 1941 were the first of their sort and the result of a lengthy process. In this chapter we will look at the possibilities of obtaining qualification in psychology before 1941, at the suggestions made to adapt purely scientific education to meet professional needs, at the interests that led to the fruition of these plans at the time, and at the concept of preparatory qualification that found expression in the DPO.

In the early days psychology was always studied together with other subjects, forming at most a specialty area. The general regulations for doctorates required three subjects to be examined orally, with psychology often not even qualifying as a subject in its own right. In 1935 Rupp expressed the opinion that not many students chose psychology as the major subject for their doctorate because it did not offer any secure career prospects (Rep 76/37, f. 44).