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Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools

2023 Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools

573 Colleges
$47,894 Avg Salary
$30,175 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology School for You

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology is the #30 most popular major in the country with 33,758 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools ranking. This report analyzed 573 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools in the United States

Check out the clinical psychology programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 25 Top Schools in Clinical & Counseling Psychology

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Brandman University the best school in the United States for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. Brandman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

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#2

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

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

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Washington University in St Louis. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools list. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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#4

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fielding Graduate University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools list. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Santa Barbara.

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#5

Palo Alto University

Palo Alto, CA

Out of the 573 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Palo Alto University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Palo Alto.

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#6

Pillar College

Newark, NJ

Pillar College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best clinical, counseling and applied psychology programs. Located in the large city of Newark, Pillar is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

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With a ranking of #7, Southern Methodist University did quite well on this year’s best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. SMU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Dallas.

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The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, The Chicago School Chicago Campus is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#9

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#10

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best clinical, counseling and applied psychology programs. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

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#11

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

With a ranking of #11, Seattle University did quite well on this year’s best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. Located in the large city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

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#12

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

With a ranking of #12, Boston College did quite well on this year’s best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. Located in the small city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Clinical Psychology majors at Boston College take out an average of $17,355 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $480.

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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools ranking. Embry-Riddle Worldwide is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Daytona Beach.

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The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools ranking. 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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#15

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best clinical, counseling and applied psychology programs. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a very large student population.

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#16

Saint Joseph's University

Philadelphia, PA

Saint Joseph’s University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best clinical, counseling and applied psychology programs. St. Joe's is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

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#17

University of Georgia

Athens, GA

With a ranking of #17, University of Georgia did quite well on this year’s best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. Located in the medium-sized city of Athens, UGA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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Southwest Minnesota State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools ranking. Located in the town of Marshall, Southwest Minnesota State University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

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#19

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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#20

Augsburg University

Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best clinical, counseling and applied psychology programs. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Augsburg is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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With a ranking of #21, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

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With a ranking of #22, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Washington DC did quite well on this year’s best schools for clinical, counseling and applied psychology students. Located in the city of Washington, The Chicago School Washington DC Campus is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

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Texas A&M University - College Station came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best clinical, counseling and applied psychology programs. Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Daytona Beach.

The average amount in student loans that clinical psychology majors at Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach take out is $25,000.

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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott ranked #25 on this year’s Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools list. Embry-Riddle Prescott is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Prescott.

The average amount in student loans that clinical psychology majors at Embry-Riddle Prescott take out is $25,000.

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Rest of the Top 50 Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools

#26

Trinity University

San Antonio, TX
#27

Excelsior College

Albany, NY
#32

Touro University Worldwide

Los Alamitos, CA
#35

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
#38

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#39

Aurora University

Aurora, IL
#40

Rider University

Lawrenceville, NJ
#42

Endicott College

Beverly, MA
#43

Tufts University

Medford, MA
#47

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA
#48

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI
#49

William James College

Newton, MA
#50

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, MO

Additional Award Winners

This section shows the rest of the schools awarded a Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 573 different United States clinical, counseling and applied psychology schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL
52 The Graduate Center, CUNY New York, NY
53 Marian University Fond Du Lac, WI
54 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
55 The Wright Institute Berkeley, CA
56 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
57 The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Irvine Irvine, CA
58 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
59 California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA
60 University of Houston Houston, TX
61 Spalding University Louisville, KY
62 Purdue University Global Indianapolis, IN
63 University of St Thomas Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
64 Loras College Dubuque, IA
65 Auburn University Auburn, AL
66 American University Washington, DC
67 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
68 Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA
69 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
70 University of Northwestern - St Paul Saint Paul, MN
71 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
72 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
73 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
74 University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI
75 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX
76 University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA
77 Oregon Institute of Technology Klamath Falls, OR
78 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
79 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY
80 Minnesota State University - Mankato Mankato, MN
81 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
82 University of Phoenix - Arizona Tempe, AZ
83 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
84 Biola University La Mirada, CA
85 Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Clinical & Counseling Psychology students that almost earned our Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools award.

Rank College Location
86 John Carroll University University Heights, OH
87 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND
88 Adler University Chicago, IL
89 Baylor University Waco, TX
90 Golden Gate University - San Francisco San Francisco, CA
91 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
92 Wayne State College Wayne, NE
93 Pacific University Forest Grove, OR
94 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
95 Holy Names University Oakland, CA
96 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
97 Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles, CA
98 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
99 Christian Brothers University Memphis, TN
100 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
101 George Washington University Washington, DC
102 University of Houston - Clear Lake Houston, TX
103 National University La Jolla, CA
104 Simmons University Boston, MA
105 Marist College Poughkeepsie, NY
106 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
107 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
108 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
109 Hodges University Naples, FL
110 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
111 University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE
112 Adelphi University Garden City, NY
113 Widener University Chester, PA
114 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology by Region

View the Best Clinical & Counseling Psychology Schools for a specific region near you.

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

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology is one of 3 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 141,695
Child Development & Psychology 17,542
Other Psychology 2,683

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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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