2023 Best Psychology Schools
Finding the Best Psychology School for You
Psychology is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 8th of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 195,678 degrees and certificates were awarded to students with this major.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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, Course Advisor has created the Best Psychology Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 1,110 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Psychology Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for psychology majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in Psychology
Our analysis found Williams College to be the best school for psychology students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Located in the fringe town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
On average, psychology graduates from Williams take out $12,150 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Psychology at Williams College Report
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The excellent programs at Duke University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best psychology schools in the United States. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
On average, psychology graduates from Duke take out $11,805 in student loans while working on their degree.
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The excellent programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best psychology schools in the United States. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Out of the 1,110 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Bates College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Lewiston, Bates is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from Bates carry an average student debtload of $17,381.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dartmouth College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Psychology Schools list. Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hanover.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at Dartmouth take out is $15,793.
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University of Notre Dame landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best psychology programs. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from Notre Dame carry an average student debtload of $19,000.
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Princeton University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for psychology students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
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Colgate University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Schools ranking. Colgate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Hamilton.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at Colgate take out is $14,284.
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Kenyon College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Psychology Schools list. Located in the town of Gambier, Kenyon is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
On average, psychology graduates from Kenyon take out $18,987 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #10, Haverford College did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students. Haverford is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Haverford.
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Elon University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Psychology Schools list. Located in the suburb of Elon, Elon is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from Elon carry an average student debtload of $21,625.
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Virginia Military Institute did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for psychology students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the distant town of Lexington, VMI is a public college with a small student population.
Psychology majors at VMI take out an average of $20,250 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Carnegie Mellon University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Schools ranking. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #14, Bucknell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students. Located in the distant town of Lewisburg, Bucknell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at Bucknell take out is $27,000.
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Yale University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Psychology Schools list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of New Haven.
On average, psychology graduates from Yale take out $15,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Psychology at Yale University Report
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Harvard University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Psychology Schools list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
Full Psychology at Harvard University Report
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Georgetown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for psychology students. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from Georgetown carry an average student debtload of $17,252.
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With a ranking of #18, Gettysburg College did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students. Located in the small city of Gettysburg, Gettysburg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at Gettysburg take out is $25,500. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $575.
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Cornell University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best psychology programs. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from Cornell carry an average student debtload of $16,638.
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Hamilton College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for psychology students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Clinton, Hamilton is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at Hamilton take out is $17,180.
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College of the Holy Cross came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Worcester, Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
While working on their degree, psychology majors at Holy Cross accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $478, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Washington University in St Louis landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best psychology programs. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, psychology majors at WUSTL accumulate an average of around $19,220 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #23, Amherst College did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students. Located in the suburb of Amherst, Amherst is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
On average, psychology graduates from Amherst take out $13,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Psychology at Amherst College Report
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With a ranking of #24, College of Saint Benedict did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Saint Joseph, CSB is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
On average, psychology graduates from CSB take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Santa Clara University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at SCU take out is $20,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $657.
Full Psychology at Santa Clara University Report
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Additional Award Winners
This section shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Psychology Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 1110 different United States psychology schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Psychology Schools award.
Psychology by Region
View the Best Psychology Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Psychology Rankings
Psychology Related Rankings by Major
Psychology Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Psychology | 141,695 |
| Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology | 33,758 |
| Child Development & Psychology | 17,542 |
| Other Psychology | 2,683 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Psychology
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Education | 327,871 |
| Social Sciences | 205,984 |
| Communication & Journalism | 120,571 |
| Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 55,820 |
| History | 32,731 |
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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