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2023 Best Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools

325 Colleges
$62,738 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Psychology Doctor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 42,013 psychology students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #8 most popular in the country.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 325 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Psychology Doctor's Degree Colleges.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Psychology

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for psychology students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Stanford University

#2

Duke University

Durham, NC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

Read full report on Psychology at Duke University

#3

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Princeton University is a great place for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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#4

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Notre Dame is a great place for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

Read full report on Psychology at University of Notre Dame

#5

Yale University

New Haven, CT

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Yale University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.

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#6

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University

#7

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

With a ranking of #7, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.

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#8

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

With a ranking of #8, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

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#9

Palo Alto University

Palo Alto, CA

With a ranking of #9, Palo Alto University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Palo Alto.

Full Psychology at Palo Alto University Report

Washington University in St Louis came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Washington University in St Louis

#11

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

With a ranking of #11, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.

Full Psychology at Cornell University Report

Arizona State University - Skysong came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the city of Scottsdale.

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The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles ranked #13 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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Claremont Graduate University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Claremont Graduate University

#15

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

With a ranking of #15, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

Read full report on Psychology at Northwestern University

#16

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania ranked #16 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on Psychology at University of Pennsylvania

#17

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #17 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#18

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

Fielding Graduate University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Santa Barbara.

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#19

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Brown University

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Washington DC ranked #20 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Washington, The Chicago School Washington DC Campus is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Southern Methodist University landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree psychology programs. SMU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Dallas.

Full Psychology at Southern Methodist University Report

With a ranking of #22, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, The Chicago School Chicago Campus is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Chicago

University of Southern California came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Psychology at University of Southern California Report

#24

The Wright Institute

Berkeley, CA

The Wright Institute came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, The Wright Institute is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Full Psychology at The Wright Institute Report

#25

Rice University

Houston, TX

Rice University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree psychology programs. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Houston.

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Rest of the Top Best Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools

#27

The Graduate Center, CUNY

New York, NY
#28

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA
#29

William James College

Newton, MA
#30

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA
#31

Touro University Worldwide

Los Alamitos, CA
#33

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, MO
#36

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX
#39

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#40

Endicott College

Beverly, MA
#42

Hofstra University

Hempstead, NY
#43

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN
#45

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI
#46

Spalding University

Louisville, KY
#48

Brandeis University

Waltham, MA

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Psychology students that almost earned our Best Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
49 Northcentral University San Diego, CA
50 Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ
51 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
52 Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL
53 University of Georgia Athens, GA
54 University of Houston Houston, TX
55 Emory University Atlanta, GA
56 Pacific University Forest Grove, OR
57 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
58 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
59 Auburn University Auburn, AL
60 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
61 North Dakota State University - Main Campus Fargo, ND
62 Boston University Boston, MA
63 American University Washington, DC
64 Tufts University Medford, MA
65 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO

Psychology by Region

View the Best Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Psychology Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 29,224
General Psychology 8,051
Child Development & Psychology 2,576
Other Psychology 2,162

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 199,724
Social Sciences 22,292
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Nevit Dilmen.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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