2023 Best Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Psychology Doctor's Degree 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 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. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for psychology majors pursuing a doctor's degree.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Psychology
Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
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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 college with a medium-sized student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Notre Dame. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
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Out of the 325 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Yale University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Yale is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.
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Carnegie Mellon 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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Harvard University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.
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Georgetown University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Palo Alto University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. 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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With a ranking of #10, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Cornell 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 #11 on the list. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.
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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 very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale.
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With a ranking of #13, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
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Claremont Graduate University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Northwestern University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
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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.
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With a ranking of #17, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Fielding Graduate University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Santa Barbara.
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Brown University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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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 large city of Washington, The Chicago School Washington DC Campus is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
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Southern Methodist University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools list. 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 places for psychology students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, The Chicago School Chicago Campus is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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University of Southern California 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 #23 on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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The Wright Institute landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree psychology programs. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, The Wright Institute is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
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Rice University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Houston.
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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 |
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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