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Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools

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2023 Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools

206 Colleges
$54,329 Avg Salary
$18,750 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 206 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States

The following schools top our list of the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Psychology

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

Our 2023 rankings named Duke University the best school in the United States for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

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#2

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Fielding Graduate University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best psychology schools in the United States. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Santa Barbara.

Read full report on Psychology at Fielding Graduate University

#3

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Out of the 206 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Brandman University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Brandman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

Read full report on Psychology at Brandman University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools list. Embry-Riddle Worldwide is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Daytona Beach.

Full Psychology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide Report

Out of the 206 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles landed the # 5 spot on the list. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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

#6

Saint Joseph's University

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #6, Saint Joseph’s University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. St. Joe's is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on Psychology at Saint Joseph’s University

Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. ASU - Skysong is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale.

Full Psychology at Arizona State University - Skysong Report

Texas A&M University - College Station came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a very large student population.

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The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of Chicago, The Chicago School Chicago Campus is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Chicago Report

#10

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Psychology at George Mason University Report

Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Minnesota State Mankato is a large public school located in the city of Mankato.

Read full report on Psychology at Minnesota State University - Mankato

Minnesota State University - Moorhead ranked #12 on this year’s Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools list. MSU Moorhead is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Moorhead.

Read full report on Psychology at Minnesota State University - Moorhead

Claremont Graduate University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate psychology programs. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#14

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Drexel University

Fort Hays State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #15 on the list. FHSU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Hays.

Read full report on Psychology at Fort Hays State University

Golden Gate University - San Francisco ranked #16 on this year’s Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools list. Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

Read More…

#17

Rider University

Lawrenceville, NJ

With a ranking of #17, Rider University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. Rider is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lawrenceville.

Full Psychology at Rider University Report

#18

University of Georgia

Athens, GA

University of Georgia landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate psychology programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Athens, UGA is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Psychology at University of Georgia Report

Iowa State University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate psychology programs. Iowa State is a very large public school located in the city of Ames.

Full Psychology at Iowa State University Report

Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #20 on this year’s Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Psychology at Columbia University in the City of New York Report

Teachers College at Columbia University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Psychology at Teachers College at Columbia University Report

#22

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Psychology at Michigan State University Report

#23

Thomas Jefferson University

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #23, Thomas Jefferson University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Thomas Jefferson University

Missouri University of Science and Technology did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #24 on the list. Missouri University of Science and Technology is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Rolla.

Full Psychology at Missouri University of Science and Technology Report

#25

Northcentral University

San Diego, CA

With a ranking of #25, Northcentral University did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. Northcentral University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

Read full report on Psychology at Northcentral University

Rest of the Top Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools

#27

Angelo State University

San Angelo, TX
#28

William James College

Newton, MA
#29

National University

La Jolla, CA

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 Graduate Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
31 Purdue University Global Indianapolis, IN
32 Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles, CA
33 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA
34 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
35 Ball State University Muncie, IN
36 John Carroll University University Heights, OH
37 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
38 University of North Texas Denton, TX
39 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY
40 Oregon Institute of Technology Klamath Falls, OR
41 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN

Psychology by Region

View the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate 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
General Psychology 141,695
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 33,758
Child Development & Psychology 17,542
Other Psychology 2,683

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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