psychology phd programs us news

Psychology Headlines

From around the world.

• Brain Differences Found in Kids with Conduct Disorder
• Musk to Move SpaceX and X HQ Over Gender Identity Law
• Survey Suggests Teens Need More Support Than Their Parents Think
• California Bars Schools From Outing LGBTQ Students to Parents
• Calls Grow for Biden to Take a Cognitive Test: What to Know
• Rescued Hostage Describes Mental Abuse During Hamas Captivity
• AI Outperforms Clinical Tests at Predicting Alzheimer's Disease
• "Familicide" Rarely Happens Without Warning Signs, Say Researchers

Source: Psychology News Center

Research | Curriculum | Field Training   | Accreditation

PhD in Clinical Psychology

School of psychology & marriage and family therapy.

Using the scientist-practitioner model, the Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology blends clinical training with innovative research. This program is normally completed in six years. As part of our commitment to deep theological integration, you will also earn a master's degree in one of the following: theology, theology and ministry, intercultural studies, or divinity.

Fuller ranked highest among Christian Integrative Clinical Psychology Programs by US News and World Report 2022

Integration

OF PSYCHOLOGY AND THEOLOGY

Training sites available.

Fuller’s SOP Granted 10-Year Accreditation Extension

Fuller is thrilled to announce that the American Psychological Association (APA), the accrediting body for our psychology programs, has granted Fuller’s PhD and PsyD clinical programs accreditation for 10 years.…

Study with faculty like these:

Alexis D. Abernethy

Chief Academic Officer and Professor of Psychology

Warren S. Brown

Professor of Psychology

Director of the Lee Edward Travis Research Institute and Associate Professor of Psychology

Explore other members of our renowned School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy faculty here.

Request More Information About the PhD in Clinical Psychology

Contact Information

Admissions Requirements

To be considered for the PhD in Clinical Psychology, applicants must submit an online application, essay responses, a CV, four recommendations, official transcripts from a bachelor's degree, and sufficiently completed psychology coursework in preparation for a doctoral program. Find specific requirements here.

Admission Deadlines

Online application opens August 1 Early application and file completion deadline: November 1 Please note, the $50 application fee will be waived if you submit the application online by November 1. Final application and file completion deadline: December 1  

You can find additional information regarding deadlines and interview dates here .

Tuition and Affordability

The full tuition for Fuller’s PhD in Clinical Psychology degree can be found here . Attending this program is an investment in your future. Learn more about the kinds of support available to you to potentially offset this cost below, or by visiting the Paying for Grad School page or searching for scholarships here .

Scholarships and Fellowships

If eligible, PhD students may receive a need-based scholarship covering up to 15% of tuition as well as federal loans. A variety of merit-based scholarships are also available, ranging from $1,000 to $45,000. Incoming students must apply for need-based aid, but will automatically be considered for merit scholarships based on their application for admission. Returning students have the opportunity to apply for additional merit-based scholarships in each subsequent academic year.

Transfer Policy

Applicants to the PhD program may have already completed a master's degree (or related courses) in clinical psychology, marriage and family therapy, theology, or another closely associated degree. Requests to transfer these degrees and/or courses for credit toward the PhD will be evaluated on an individual basis. These transfer requests must be petitioned after matriculation. The sole exception is that requests that may affect Fall Quarter course enrollment may be addressed by contacting the Assistant Director of Academic Advising prior to matriculation.

Accreditation

The PhD in Clinical Psychology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. Questions related to the program's accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002 Phone: (202) 336-5979 / Email: [email protected]

Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data

"While at Fuller I have had my worldview widened and my identity deepened—as a Christian, academic, and therapist. I have felt supported by faculty and my cohort, making the challenges of a doctoral program rewarding and transformative. I'm thankful to know that when I graduate, I will be not only professionally qualified but personally equipped to venture into an increasingly complex and wounded world." – Emily Hauck, PhD Clinical Graduate

Integration of Psychology and Theology

No other PhD program does integration like Fuller. Students learn how to integrate theology with psychology through courses and training led by experts in integrative thought and practice. As part of our PhD program students also obtain an MA in Theology, MA in Theology and Ministry, MA in Intercultural Studies, or Master of Divinity, learning from world-class theologians in Fuller’s School of Mission and Theology.

MASTER’S REQUIREMENTS

PhD students must register for eight units of master’s research, culminating in a master’s project—an empirical research project completed under the supervision of a faculty advisor. Students may register for units in conjunction with participation in research teams.

Dissertation Requirements

PhD students must complete a dissertation that (1) is an original scholarly work (not based on previous work) completed by the student under the supervision and guidance of the student’s dissertation chair and committee, and (2) demonstrates the student’s abilities to use research literature and a sound scholarly process to analyze, evaluate, and/or provide new information relevant to the practice of psychology.

RESEARCH LABS

Each PhD student participates in a research lab where they work cooperatively with a faculty member to complete their master’s project and dissertation. Labs also provide opportunities for research mentorship, professional and career development, and peer interaction. Visit the Travis Research Institute or our faculty members’ bio pages to learn more about their current areas of research.

In the PhD in Clinical Psychology program, students are awarded a Master of Arts in Psychology after completing 88 selected units. Coursework for both degrees is divided into the following categories:

Click here for a detailed, year-by-year curriculum.

Customize your degree program to your career goals by choosing from two tracks: Neuropsychology or Culture and Community.

The Neuropsychology Track emphasizes coursework in topics including neuropsychology, pharmapsychology, and physiological psychology, and provides clinical training and research experiences in the area of neuropsychology.

The Culture and Community Track emphasizes in-depth coursework, cultural training experiences, and research opportunities addressing particular ethnocultural and community groups.

Learning to Struggle

Alexis Abernethy, chief academic officer and professor of psychology, considers the role of suffering in spiritual formation

Field Training

You will see client actors for at least ten sessions, using person-centered therapy interventions. These sessions are videotaped and reviewed with your supervisor weekly. You will also attend class weekly to cultivate introductory psychotherapy skills. This training experience is overseen by two faculty members working closely with our director of clinical training and the chairs of both the PsyD and PhD programs.

We will match you to one of our 70+ training sites throughout the greater Los Angeles area, where you will complete a nine-month supervised practicum. You will spend approximately ten hours a week working directly with clients and receiving related training and supervision. In addition, you will be assigned to a Fuller consultation group where you will develop and practice skills in integrating theology and clinical practice.

We will work closely with you to locate a nine-month practicum training experience at one of our 70+ training sites. During this training year you can anticipate spending approximately 12 hours a week at your practicum placement. In this placement you will work with appropriately complex cases and further develop your clinical skills in a setting of your choosing. At this level of training you will be supervised only by a licensed psychologist.

We will help you select a 12-month clerkship training placement from one of our partners. In this training year you will get clinical assessment experience in order to enhance your assessment skill; receive an introduction to an array of current clinical psychodiagnostic methods and tests; and develop and demonstrate excellence in synthesizing all of the data generated by clinical interviews, psycho-diagnostic testing, and any relevant research into a comprehensive report. This placement is approximately 12 hours per week.

We will work closely with you to select a 12-month pre-internship training placement from one of our partners. The goal of this training year is to provide a combination of clinical and assessment training opportunities that are appropriately challenging and complex with regard to clients’ presenting concerns and the types of interventions used.

You will complete a one-year internship at an APA-accredited internship site.

Fuller Psychological and Family Services

For over 50 years, Fuller Psychological and Family Services (FPFS) has provided affordable mental health care to individuals and families in Pasadena and its surrounding communities. FPFS offers a comprehensive array of psychotherapy and assessment services in five languages and is our in-house training clinic.

Upcoming Events

The Fuller Symposium on the Integration of Psychology and Theology is the annual conference held by the School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy.

Competencies

All students who complete their doctoral training at Fuller’s School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy will develop certain competencies as part of their preparation for practice in health service psychology. The emphasis placed within each competency area will differ, however, depending upon whether one pursues a PhD or a PsyD. Read more about the Program Aims and Competencies .

Compare the PhD and PsyD

How do the PhD in Clinical Psychology and PsyD in Clinical Psychology programs differ? Download this chart detailing the differences in emphasis within each competency area.

You May Also Be Interested In

PsyD in Clinical Psychology

Learn to provide therapy and assessment to diverse populations, understand and apply research that helps clients thrive, and teach in many settings

MS in Marriage and Family Therapy

This program prepares you to serve as a skilled therapist with a theological understanding that richly informs your work

get to know your admissions counselor | Liz Yoshonis

My family and I came to Fuller in 2019 from Michigan so that my husband could pursue his MDIV. Throughout those years, I fell in love with Fuller; the multicultural experience of just living in Fuller Housing, and felt personally drawn toward the School of Psychology. In 2022 I applied and was accepted into the Marriage and Family Therapy Program where I am currently a student. The program has been personally life-changing. Since my studies began, I have become a better wife, mother, and friend. The faculty is rich with knowledge and care as they excellently prepare us for future clinical work as well as beautifully integrate theology and psychology throughout the program. Now, as an admissions counselor, I have the unique opportunity to assist individuals in the process of applying to SOPMFT programs as well. It is a profound honor for me to be able to walk alongside individuals as they navigate the possibilities of how Fuller can be the catalyst for what God has created them for and ultimately affect positive change for the world.

[email protected] 626.584.5400

Chat with an Admissions representative

Office Hours

Monday – Friday 8 am – 5 pm (Pacific Time)

To view in-person welcome center hours for Pasadena, Arizona and Houston, click here.

Graduate Programs Recognized in US News Rankings

The College of Science graduate and professional degree programs at University of Arizona are once again recognized among the best in the nation, as shown in the latest U.S. News & World Graduate Program Rankings. This includes five graduate programs in the top 10 and ten in the top 25 in their respective areas of study - with the Graduate Program in the  Department of Psychology  in a tie for #35 overall of all psychology departments from eligible universities.

You can read the feature from the College of Science  HERE

and find the full rankings of universities and their departments  HERE

• Interesting for you
• My settings

Psychology in United States

Why Study Psychology in United States

• Studying Psychology in United States is a great choice, as there are 111 universities that offer PhD degrees on our portal.
• Over 957,000 international students choose United States for their studies, which suggests you’ll enjoy a vibrant and culturally diverse learning experience and make friends from all over the world.
• We counted 121 affordable PhD degrees in United States , allowing you to access quality higher education without breaking the bank. Moreover, there are 293 available scholarships you can apply to.

193  Psychology PhDs in United States

Applied Developmental Psychology This Applied Developmental Psychology PhD program from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) reflects... University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Baltimore Highlands, Maryland, United States

Human Services Psychology (Behavioral, Clinical, Community) The Human Services Psychology (Behavioral, Clinical, Community) PhD program from University of Maryland... University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Baltimore Highlands, Maryland, United States

Study in United States

The United States is home to some of the most prestigious universities and colleges in the world. With over 150 universities featured in international rankings, the U.S. has some of the best business schools, medical schools, and engineering schools. Universities and colleges in the U.S. are well known for academic flexibility and ways to customize your study experience with optional studies and extracurricular activities. Depending on where you will be studying, you will be able to visit iconic places like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Goldengate Bridge, The Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Disney's Magic Kingdom Park, and much more.

Is United States the right place for you?

Take the test and find out which country is your best fit.

Explore your Psychology degree

Psychology degrees teach students about all aspects of how the human mind and psyche work. Psychology degrees offered by top universities and colleges deal with the understanding of individuals and their behaviour within society, considering the human stages of development. Graduates pf Psychology studies find careers in Counselling, Psychotherapy, Organisational Psychology, Special Education, Advertising, and more.

Is Psychology the best for you?

Take the test and find out if Psychology is the right path for you.

Psychology Scholarships and Financial Aid in United States

Available Options

Go to your profile page to get personalised recommendations!

• Associate's
• Business Psychology
• Child Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Sport Psychology
• All Specialties
• Online Guide
• Pennsylvania

Psychology Schools and Program Guide

• Author: Audrey Stoffle
• Expert Reviewer: Jonathan Adams, PhD
• Editorial Process

At Psychology Degree 411, we help match prospective undergraduate and graduate students with the psychology school that is the best fit for them. Because psychology is one of the most popular programs of study in the world, most schools offer either a Bachelor of Science (BS) or a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in psychology. Many psychology undergrads go on to pursue a master’s degree or a doctoral degree in psychology to complete the training required to practice clinical psychology and many other specialized jobs in the field. There are hundreds of colleges and universities that offer accredited and respected psychology programs, both online and on campuses across the nation.

Psychology schools are known for their advancements in research and their specialization or concentration areas. Prospective students should make sure the psychology department at the school of their choice offers the focus area(s) they want to study. Popular psychology programs offer specializations such as forensic psychology , school psychology , clinical child psychology , and industrial/organizational psychology , to name a few. Keep in mind that while there will be some time to study special topics during your undergraduate degree, the focus will be on completing core coursework, while further specialization will be at the graduate level.

Psychology School Facts

• There are 1,774 not-for-profit colleges and universities that offer a psychology program in the United States. 1
• 72 of these schools offer an associate degree in psychology. 1
• 1,434 of these schools offer a bachelor’s degree in psychology. 1
• 228 of these schools offer a certificate program in psychology. 1
• 761 of these schools offer an advanced degree in psychology. 1
• 309 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) psychology programs are accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). 2
• 107 Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) programs are accredited by the APA. 2

Table of Contents

Psychology School Information by State

Best value psychology schools with on-campus programs, choosing a school, school accreditation.

• Psychology Program Profiles
• Typical Courses

Additional Resources

Frequently asked questions.

If you want to learn more about psychology schools and programs in your state, click on the states below to find out more. There you will find state-specific facts about psychology schools along with profiles of some of the state’s most well-known graduate and undergraduate programs.

• Select a State
• Connecticut
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Washington DC
• West Virginia

When choosing a psychology school, you want to consider several factors, including affordability, graduation rate, and retention rate. To help you, we have researched the top US schools with on-campus undergraduate psychology majors with a graduation rate of 85% or greater and a net price of less than $17,000 per year.

A high graduation rate is a traditional marker of student success at a college or university, while net price gives you an idea of what you may pay for your psychology degree. In the table below, we have also included quality markers such as retention rate, transfer-out rate, student loan default rate (all for full-time, first-time students pursuing bachelor’s degrees), and the percentage of tenured faculty. Finally, we have included psychology rankings from US News & World Report and indicated whether each school appears on the Princeton Review’s Best Colleges-Great Schools for Psychology Majors list

Before applying to the psychology degree program of your choice, you need to research the school’s admission guidelines and requirements. It is always a good idea to apply to more than one school, just in case you do not get accepted by your first choice.

For those pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree, tThe American Psychological Association (APA) offers information on application deadlines, acceptance rates, scholarship opportunities, and tuition costs for hundreds of psychology graduate programs across the US and Canada. The site also features tips for top psychology students to distinguish themselves from the competition, like gaining valuable research experience as an undergraduate, selecting the best undergraduate course schedule, and building relationships with faculty and mentors who can later write students letters of recommendation.

Undergraduate Psychology Programs

Majoring in psychology is a popular choice at schools across the country because of students’ curiosity about human behavior and their interest in improving mental health. 6 Psychology programs produce well-rounded graduates who understand human thought and behavior, think critically, and communicate effectively. Because becoming a clinical psychologist requires additional schooling and licensure, many psychology majors find work after graduation in fields not directly related to their degree. While studying psychology as an undergraduate, students should concentrate on taking classes that will improve their marketability post-graduation. Most schools offer resources such as student advisors and career centers to help you choose the courses that will best fit your career path. In addition, by choosing a complementary minor or an emphasis outside of psychology, students can distinguish themselves in business, healthcare, or whatever career most interests them.

Undergraduate psychology majors can improve their chances of finding employment by identifying careers that utilize strong writing skills, analytical thinking, small group work, and interpersonal communication. Psychology graduates find meaningful work in industries where understanding what motivates people is critical.

Admission requirements vary by school, but typical requirements include an official high school transcript (or GED certificate) and an application fee. Many schools also require standardized test scores from the ACT or SAT exams. A strong GPA, taking advanced placement (AP) coursework, and participation in extracurricular and leadership activities may increase your chance of admission.

If you are considering earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology online, you can find online learning tips and compare top online psychology programs on our guide to earning an online psychology degree .

Graduate Psychology Programs

Some undergraduates apply for graduate programs immediately following their bachelor’s degree. Others go back to school mid-career in order to advance their position or their pay. Many psychology students pursue master’s degrees in psychology to qualify for careers in specialized areas of the field. An aspiring coach, for example, may seek a master’s in sport psychology to increase earning potential. Someone who aspires to become a sheriff or police chief may pursue a master’s in criminal psychology . A person entering the field of product design will likely seek a master’s in human factors to become qualified for those jobs.

Students interested in a doctoral-level psychology degree should first determine whether they want to become a practicing psychologist in a clinical or counseling environment or if they want to work in applied research or academia. This distinction will determine the type of psychology degree they should pursue. Those with aspirations of becoming practitioners should apply to a college or university that offers an APA-accredited doctoral program in counseling, clinical, or school psychology. Doctoral programs are offered as Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degrees or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology degrees . Both of these degree options include training in clinical practice and qualify graduates to practice psychology. Students interested in careers in research or academia should apply exclusively to PhD programs, but those pursuing psychology practice can apply to both PhD and PsyD programs. You can learn more about the differences between these two degree types on our home page . Regardless of the type of degree they obtain, all doctoral graduates who will practice psychology at a clinical level must first receive proper licensure in their desired state.

Admission into a graduate program in psychology does not always require a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Still, a bachelor’s degree is always required, along with a statement of purpose, official transcripts, and GRE scores for some programs. International students must also be able to show proficiency in English. Check with the schools of your choice for admission requirements.

US News & World Report’s Top-Ranked Graduate Schools with Psychology Programs 2023

According to US News & World Report, which ranks psychology programs based on academic quality assessed through a survey of peer academics, the top schools in the country for graduate psychology programs are:

• Stanford University (#1 tie, Stanford, CA)
• University of California-Berkeley (#1 tie, Berkeley, CA)
• Harvard University (#3 tie, Cambridge, MA)
• University of California-Los Angeles (#3 tie, Los Angeles, CA)
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (#3 tie, Ann Arbor, MI)
• Princeton University (#6 tie, Princeton, NJ)
• University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign (#6 tie, Champaign, IL)
• Yale University (#6 tie, New Haven, CT)
• Cornell University (#9 tie, Ithaca, NY)
• Northwestern University (#9 tie, Evanston, IL)
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (#9 tie, Madison, WI) 7

Accreditation is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a psychology program. There are two main types of accreditation: institutional and programmatic. Institutional accreditation means the entire school is accredited by the organization granting that accreditation. Regional accreditation is a type of institutional accreditation that signals schools meet widely-recognized standards of quality and performance. Regional accreditation is a qualifier for certain types of funding, including federal student aid (FSA), and increases the likelihood that credits earned will transfer to another school. The six accreditation regions in the US include:

• Higher Learning Commission ( HLC ): AZ, AR, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, NM, ND, OH, OK, SD, WV, WI, and WY
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education ( MSCHE ): DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, and PA
• New England Commission of Higher Education ( NECHE ): CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities ( NWCCU ): AK, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, and WA
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges ( SACSCOC ): AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, and VA
• WASC Senior College and University Commission ( WSCUC ) and Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges ( ACCJC ): CA and HI

There are also national programmatic accreditors that specialize in the accreditation of programs specific to psychology and counseling. Programmatic accreditation is awarded to a specific program within a larger institution and vouches for the quality of that program. Major programmatic accreditors in the psychology field include:

• American Psychological Association (APA)
• National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
• Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
• Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS)

Select Schools With Traditional Psychology Programs

University of california-berkeley.

The Psychology Department at the University of California-Berkeley (UCA’s flagship campus) promotes the discipline’s diverse specialties and covers six key divisions of study including Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience; Clinical Science; Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Developmental; and Social-Personality. At the undergraduate level, the program results in a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and at the graduate level, the program results in a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology. While the BA degree covers all six areas of research, the graduate program offers additional opportunities for specialization within each track. In the Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience track, areas of specialty include Hormones and Behavior; Perceptual and Value-Based Decision Making; Sensory Systems; Neural Basis of Learning and Memory; Neuroethology; and Biology of Sensitive Periods. Within the Cognition track are additional areas of specialty like Learning and Memory; Concepts and Categorization; Reasoning and Problem Solving; Language; and Perception and Attention. Within the Cognitive Neuroscience focus are areas of specialty such as Sensory and Perceptual Processes; Attention and Working Memory; Learning and Memory; Emotion; and Motor Control. In all programs, students can take coursework targeted toward their specific fields of interest.

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

As one of the largest public research institutions in the nation, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (U of M) offers undergraduate and graduate students a plethora of opportunities for research and study in psychology. The Department of Psychology at U of M offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS) in Psychology, with the BA being for students interested in studying a second language. U of M’s Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program includes areas of specialization in seven areas: Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program (CSPR); Cognitive and Brain Science (CAB); Counseling Psychology; Industrial/Organizational Psychology (I/O); Personality, Individual Differences, and Behavior Genetics (PIB); Quantitative/Psychometric Methods (QPM); and Social Psychology. The CSPR and the Counseling Psychology specializations include practica placements that prepare graduates for licensure as psychologists in Minnesota. U of M also offers minors in Psychology and Health Psychology.

University of Pennsylvania

As one of the first psychology departments in North America, the University of Pennsylvania’s (Penn) Department of Psychology has a rich and respected history. Based in Philadelphia, Penn offers an undergraduate major and minor in Psychology, and its Psychology Graduate Group offers a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) a range of research opportunities broadly classified into two areas: Brain, Cognitive, and Decision Science and Clinical, Positive, and Social Psychology. The clinical psychology PhD program is APA-approved. Graduate students study alongside faculty, exploring concepts of neural and cognitive mechanisms related to memory, learning, attention, language, foraging, decision-making, and neuro-regulatory mechanisms. In addition to the Clinical Training Program, there is a Vision Training Program, a Joint Juris Doctor (JD)/PhD Program; a Joint PhD Marketing/Psychology Program; a Medical Doctor (MD)/PhD Program; and an Integrative Language Science and Technology Initiative.

University of Washington

One of the top public schools on the West Coast, the University of Washington (UW) is located in the heart of Seattle. The Department of Psychology at UW offers a Bachelor of Science (BS) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology. The BS prepares undergraduates for psychology doctoral programs that lead to careers in research, teaching, or clinical psych. The BA offers a general education in psychology for those preparing for master’s-level graduate degrees or for students who want to apply psychology’s principles to other careers. UW also offers Doctor of Psychology (PhD) programs in eight areas of psychology: Animal Behavior; Behavioral Neuroscience; Clinical Psychology; Child Clinical Psychology; Cognition and Perception; Developmental Psychology; Social and Personality Psychology; and Quantitative Psychology.

Online, Hybrid, and Evening Psychology Schools

Psychology programs with non-traditional options are a good fit for students who seek more flexibility in their education. Online programs give students the autonomy to complete coursework and assignments from home. These programs still promote collaboration among peers and foster relationships between instructors and students. Most online psychology programs are offered in a hybrid format. Hybrid programs give students the best of both worlds by combining traditional on-campus learning with distance learning options. To learn more about online psychology schools, read our Guide to Earning an Online Psychology Degree.

Top-Ranked Online Psychology Schools

Enrollment numbers are increasing for online programs, so many colleges and universities now offer fully online psychology degree programs for students looking for more flexibility. Since choosing an online school can be overwhelming, we have put together a list of the best online psychology bachelor’s degrees in the United States. To read more, visit our ranking of the top online psychology schools to see the full list, along with profiles of selected programs.

• University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)
• Indiana University Bloomington (Bloomington, IN)
• University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
• Utah State University (Logan, UT)
• Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR)
• Regent University (Virginia Beach, VA)
• University of Arizona (Tuscon, AZ)
• University of Alabama Birmingham (Birmingham, AL)
• University of Missouri (Columbia, MO)
• University of West Florida (Pensacola, FL)

Typical Psychology Courses

Psychology coursework can be taken at the undergraduate to doctorate level so the types of courses available vary widely. Courses such as Introduction to Psychology; Developmental Psychology; and Statistics and Research Methods are normally taken at the undergraduate level before students choose electives. Courses such as Human Memory and Learning; Issues & Ethics in Counseling; and Theories of Personality may be taken as part of a graduate-level curriculum.

• Animal Sensory Processes
• Brain and Behavior
• Child/Adolescent Development
• Cognitive Psychology
• Conditioning and Learning
• Counseling Psychology: Methods of Applied Psychology
• Hormones and Behavior
• Human Growth and Development
• Human Memory and Learning
• Human Services Practicum
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• Introduction to Psychology
• Issues & Ethics in Counseling
• Lifespan Development
• Psychological Disorders
• Psychology of Adult Development and Aging
• Psychology of Language
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Senior Thesis
• Sensation and Perception
• Social Psychology
• Sports Psychology
• Statistics for the Behavioral & Social Sciences
• Theories of Personality
• American Psychological Association (APA), Applying to Grad School : A resource from the APA that includes guidelines and tips for applying to a psychology graduate school, as well as funding information.
• American Psychological Association (APA), Especially for Students : A resource from the APA that includes tips on getting into grad school, finding internships, and scholarship opportunities.
• Psi Chi : International honor society in psychology for students that recognizes academic achievement and encourages leadership and collaboration within disciplines of psychology.

Should I attend an online psychology program or a traditional one?

The answer to this question depends on a variety of factors, and mostly on your personal preferences. If you need more flexibility to attend psychology school, then you should consider an online or hybrid program . If you prefer attending class in-person and have a schedule that allows you to be on campus, a traditional psychology program might be best for you. If you choose an online program, make sure it is appropriately accredited and the curriculum matches up to the on-campus version in order to ensure you are getting the most for your money. Check out our Guide to Earning an Online Psychology Degree for more information.

How do I decide which psychology school is right for me?

To choose the best psychology school for you, do your research! Make sure the school you choose is regionally accredited and offers the specialization(s) of your interest. For their undergraduate degree, many students complete the first two years of study at a community college close to home, then transfer to a four-year institution to complete their degree. We also recommend applying to your top three schools of your choice, just in case your first choice doesn’t work out. Read some of our school profiles for more information about individual schools.

How long will it take me to finish a psychology program?

The length of time it takes to complete a psychology program depends on the type of program you choose. If you go to school full-time, you can expect an undergraduate psychology program to take four years to complete and a graduate psychology program two to seven years, depending on the level of the degree . If you are a part-time student, you will need more time to complete your program.

I have a full-time job. How can I go to psychology school?

Undergraduate and graduate psychology degree programs are offered in a variety of formats to fit the needs of all types of students. For non-traditional students — typically those who work full-time, have families, or are otherwise hindered by the requirement to attend class on a set schedule — there are many online, hybrid, or evening psychology programs to choose from. Keep in mind that most PhD in Psychology programs require a full-time commitment, so check with each school to make sure it matches your goals.

References: 1. National Center for Education Statistics: https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ 2. American Psychological Association Search for Accredited Programs: https://accreditation.apa.org/accredited-programs 3. College Factual: https://www.collegefactual.com/ 4. US News & World Report National University Rankings: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities 5. The Princeton Review. The Best 385 Colleges, 2022 Edition . The Princeton Review, 2021. 6. Collisson, B., Eck, B. E., & Harig, T. (2021). Introducing Gen Z psychology majors: Why they choose to major in psychology (and what they expect to learn). Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology. Advance online publication. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fstl0000249 7. US News & World Report, Best Psychology Schools: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/psychology-rankings

Best APA-Accredited Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Programs for 2024

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) programs prepare students for clinical careers in the field, as opposed to Doctor of Philosophy ( Ph.D.) in psychology degrees , which are designed for students pursuing work in research or academia. Although both degrees grant the coveted title of “psychologist,” Psy.D. programs have different curricula, different requirements, and different practicum and internship experiences. This list introduces you to some of the best Psy.D. programs in the country, all of which are accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).

How We Chose These Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Programs

Regional or national accreditation is always important in higher education as a way to distinguish degree-granting institutions that offer high-quality education, but APA accreditation of programs is in addition to institutional accreditation and an important distinction for doctoral programs in psychology.

Recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, APA accreditation is the nationally accepted standard for quality in doctoral training and education in psychology—specifically in the fields of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and school psychology.

Though a graduate degree from a non-APA-accredited program may not carry the same weight with employers, colleagues, governing bodies, and academic and research institutions, there are many accredited institutions that offer high-quality doctoral programs across a number of psychology specialties that will prepare students for successful careers in practice. Prospective students should consider all accredited schools to find the best fit for their needs.

The following list profiles all 15 of the clinical psychology Psy.D. programs fully accredited by the APA (published in December 2019 using the latest available information from the APA). Programs are listed in descending order of the percentage of their recent graduates who have earned professional licensure, which is needed to work as a psychologist in every state in America. The list also explores a few program highlights for each school—the unique offerings that make these Psy.D. degree programs stand out from the rest.

A Note About Instructional Models

Many of the following schools emphasize specific instructional models or psychology traditions. Below are brief explanations of each:

• Practitioner-scientist model (also called the practitioner-scholar model) : The goal of this model is to train clinicians to use scientific research as a foundation for the applied work they do, and, conversely, to use their clinical experiences to promote scientific research.
• Psychodynamic theory : According to this tradition, humans are often driven by unconscious forces and motivations that they do not have access to. Personality is formed mainly by childhood experiences, which are often stored in the unconscious mind. The tradition is based on a collection of the theories of Sigmund Freud and his followers (such as Jung, Erikson, and Adler).
• Cognitive-behavioral theory : This approach looks at how our thoughts influence the ways that we feel and behave. When used therapeutically, the goal is to shape a person’s thoughts to make positive behavioral changes.

100% of recent graduates obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $47,304 Out-of-State Tuition: $47,304

Baylor’s Psy.D. program follows the practitioner-scientist model of training—an adaptation of the scientist-practitioner model. The Baylor practitioner-scientist model emphasizes the preparation of clinicians whose practice is rooted in the science of psychology and who are prepared to thoughtfully and actively contribute to the science of psychology and its application. The first part of the curriculum is dedicated to developing clinical assessment and intervention skills. From that base, students will begin supervised clinical practicum placements. Although the program’s clinical research component is secondary, it is significant for a Psy.D. program—Baylor holds a “high-research institution” Carnegie classification. All students, from the start of their training, will affiliate with a faculty member’s research program. In the fourth year, all students will complete a fully funded research practicum that takes place in their professor’s laboratory. The five-year program is highly competitive , with roughly 30 of 300 annual applicants being invited for an interview. From that pool, only six or eight are accepted, for an acceptance rate of about 2%.

Program Highlights

Baylor is not reserved in the language it uses to tout its “unparalleled” and “exceptional” financial support—and for good reason. Baylor estimates all Psy.D. students in good standing will receive $11,000 to $18,000 in practicum salary per year for the first three years, as well as full tuition remission. During the fourth year, the stipend grows to $19,000 plus full tuition remission. The program’s graduates have a consistent record of landing highly competitive clinical internships and a perfect 100% have earned licensure.

98% of recent graduates obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $10,978 Out-of-State Tuition: $27,082

James Madison University’s Psy.D. program is the school’s oldest doctoral degree. It follows a unique blended model that the program describes as “combined-integrated training”—when you finish, you’ll emerge with a combined degree in both clinical and school psychology. The four-year program consists of three years of coursework and practica followed by a one-year pre-doctoral internship. All students are required to complete a doctoral dissertation. The program merges the disciplines of school, counseling, and clinical psychology by pairing students with supervisors from a variety of professional and academic backgrounds. Those backgrounds include cross-cultural research, parent-child interactions and attachment theory, and theoretical and philosophical psychology. The program is based on a scientific-humanistic philosophy, blending evidence-based science with moral and ethical concepts like relationships and an appreciation for diversity.

A full 98% of eligible graduates earn their licenses after graduating from the program. All students accepted into the program receive assistantships and full tuition waivers, and 93% are matched with internships that are APA-CPA accredited. The program is known for its small classes and individual attention from faculty—there is one instructor for every three students.

97% of recent graduates obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $8,799 Out-of-State Tuition: $17,283

Continuously accredited by the APA since 1985, the Psy.D. program at Indiana State University follows the practitioner-scientist model of instruction. Unlike many Psy.D. programs, the curriculum places a heavy emphasis on research, much like you would expect from a traditional Ph.D. program. That’s because students are required to complete a dissertation. The result is a program that blends both rigorous clinical training as well as significant research opportunities. Of the 30 to 35 students who participate in the program every year, virtually all have bachelor’s degrees in psychology and one or two hold a master’s degree or have completed at least some graduate work. The program is led by seven clinical faculty members and five experimental faculty members.

The program’s claim that it “prepares individuals to become competent professional psychologists…” is backed up by impressive data. A full 97% of graduates earn their licenses, and over the last three years, the program’s internship has achieved a 100% placement rate—all 24 students who participated between 2016 and 2019 were matched with APA-accredited experiences. Another standout feature is the program’s focus on cultural diversity and social responsibility.

In State Tuition: $28,115 Out-of-State Tuition: $28,115

You must earn at least 96 credits to complete the Psy.D. program at the University of Hartford. Three of those credits are earned through a dissertation seminar and 12 are earned in practica. The program is designed to prepare clinical psychologists not only to deliver direct services, but also to consult human services agencies and assume leadership positions in clinical settings. The program offers a child and adolescent proficiency track, and it is delivered in the practitioner-scholar model. The program focuses on generalist training, with an emphasis on the practitioner component, but is balanced with scholarly training designed not to prepare students for careers in research, but for careers as clinicians in community and clinical settings.

The full-time cohort program boasts a 97% licensure rate among its graduates. There are also opportunities to mitigate the cost of tuition. For example, the most qualified students will be eligible to earn stipends by serving as graduate assistants, where they’ll aid in teaching, administrative, research, and clinical activities. There are also several diversity fellowships and an advocacy fellowship available.

In State Tuition: $31,500 Out-of-State Tuition: $31,500

The first program of its kind in the entire state of Maryland, the Psy.D. program at Loyola University takes five years of full-time study to complete, four if you have a qualifying master’s degree. Some master’s students might be considered for so-called advanced standing, meaning you’ll enter the program as a second-year student. The program includes four or five courses per semester and 10 to 16 hours of clinical training per week. The entire fifth year is dedicated to a full-time clinical internship. There are nine main competencies, including research; ethical and legal standards; individual and cultural diversity; professional values, attitudes, and behaviors; communication and interpersonal skills; assessment; intervention; supervision; and consultation and interpersonal/interdisciplinary skills.

First- and second-year students will complete full-year externships under the direction of Loyola faculty at the Loyola Clinic. Third- and fourth-year students complete full-year clinical field placements at outside facilities. The program boasts a 97% licensure rate and awards a Master of Science degree to students who enter with bachelor’s degrees and pursue a combined M.S./Psy.D. Those who do pursue dual degrees can pursue lucrative fellowship opportunities worth $40,000 to $60,000 to offset the cost of tuition.

96% of recent graduates obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $38,320 Out-of-State Tuition: $38,320

Fully and continuously accredited by the APA since 1985, the clinical Psy.D. program at Yeshiva University is a 116-credit, five-year program that culminates in a full-time internship in the fifth year. The first four years include practica, coursework, and supervised experiences. The program has a heavy research emphasis for a Psy.D. program and is delivered in both the psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral traditions. It offers specialized training in both couples and family therapy, and there’s also the geropsychology track, which emphasizes the treatment of older adults. Other specialized courses of study—either through clinical training, research, or both—include serious and persistent mental illness, work with underserved populations, anxiety and depressive disorders, treatment process, trauma, and neuropsychology. Yeshiva also has a combined school-clinical psychology Psy.D. program, which is discussed below.

Over the last four years, the program achieved a 96.5% match rate for internships, which is one of the best in the country—the 2018 match rate was 95%. That, coupled with the program’s 96% licensure rate, reflects on the program’s student-centered training philosophy, which includes teaching-assistant opportunities, research advisement positions, and advisement for clinical placements.

Combined School-Clinical Psy.D. Program

95% of gradutes obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $35,750 Out-of-State Tuition: $37,750

In addition to its clinical Psy.D. program, Yeshiva offers a combined school-clinical Psy.D. program . It focuses on children, adolescents, and families as well as parents, couples, and individuals. Graduates of this program will be qualified to provide services in schools and mental health facilities or private practice. The 110-credit program takes five years to complete. The first four years involve coursework, practica, and externships. The fifth year is an internship. The practica requirements include both cognitive behavior therapy and psychodynamic treatments. Students also conduct psychological evaluations.

This program provides extensive supervised clinical experiences—3,500 hours—which take place in diverse and multicultural urban centers. The program has a 95% licensure rate for eligible graduates. It is accredited by the APA and recognized by the National Association of School Psychologists.

In State Tuition: $9,954 Out-of-State Tuition: $39,777

The Psy.D. program at Georgia Southern University was designed specifically to fill a desperate need for qualified, licensed psychologists in underserved remote areas, particularly those in the rural South. The program still serves that mission to this day, preparing students for clinical practice in disadvantaged rural communities in Georgia and the surrounding region. The full-time day program follows the practitioner-scholar model and trains students to deliver psychological consultation services, psychological assessment, and psychotherapy to underserved rural residents. The first year of the program focuses on didactic and skill-building coursework followed by a second-year practicum. The following two years are dedicated to practicum experience, with the third year focusing on rural practice and the fourth year shifting to professional development. The fifth year is dedicated to a predoctoral internship.

The Psy.D. program offers a high licensure achievement rate of 96%, but the competitive program admits only eight new students every year—only those with a minimum GPA of 3.3 will be considered. The program offers four graduate assistantships (GAs) to those eight students, and the others can apply for GAs in other departments. All GAs, no matter the department, come with a stipend and a full tuition waiver, including out-of-state tuition, in exchange for 20 hours of work per week.

95% of recent graduates obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $29,430 Out-of-State Tuition: $29,430

A service-oriented degree based on a practitioner-scientist model, the Psy.D. program at the Florida Institute of Technology holds the distinction of being the first Psy.D. program in the Southeast. Elective emphasis areas include integrated behavioral health, child and family psychology, forensic psychology, and neuropsychology. The program accepts 20 applicants a year, all of whom have opportunities for research internships in environments like mental health centers, hospitals, schools, military facilities, private practices, and prisons. Clinical training begins in the Community Psychological Services Center, which is located on campus, and during the first year, students will shadow an on-campus clinician. The small program size gives each student the opportunity to collaborate with faculty on doctoral research projects, internships, and assistantships.

Aside from the standard practicum, research, and internship opportunities, students may also participate in three clinical psychology trainings offered by the Scott Center for Autism and Treatment, the Concussion Management Program, and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Aside from classes and seminars, academic training includes supervised experiences in therapy, counseling, diagnosis, and testing. This integration of practicum opportunities has helped the program’s graduates earn a 95% licensure rate.

94% of recent graduates obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $34,170 Out-of-State Tuition: $34,170

Although the Psy.D. program at La Salle University is based on a five-year full-time schedule, students may take courses on a part-time basis for as long as two years. The program, which is open to both bachelor’s and master’s students, follows the practitioner-scholar model and emphasizes cognitive-behavioral theory. All students can utilize an on-campus training clinic for at least two years. There are three areas of concentration: clinical health, child clinical, and general practice. Training opportunities are offered in more than 10 concentrations. The program includes a two-year practicum progression with an optional third year, followed by a full-year clinical internship and a clinical dissertation.

The program offers limited, need-based tuition assistance for full-time students in the first part of the program. Other highlights include an annual Diversity Forum and the Annual Showcase for the Science of Psychology and its Application. The program boasts an annual employment rate of 98% in 22 different types of settings, its match rate is consistently at or above the national average, and the licensure rate is 94%.

In State Tuition: $23,240 Out-of-State Tuition: $23,240

Students accepted into the Xavier University Psy.D. program will choose a concentrated area of interest chosen from options that reflect Xavier’s Jesuit Catholic tradition of serving people and communities in need. The options for those areas of interest are: individuals with severe and chronic psychopathology problems, health-care psychology across the life span, and clinical child and adolescent psychology. Each area of concentration is four of eight elective credits. The full-time, five-year program includes four academic years and one internship year. The practitioner-scientist model addresses the need for research skills while also developing applied skills that allow practitioners to contribute to the field of clinical psychology in a meaningful way.

The program boasts a 100% employment rate among its graduates, who work in settings such as medical centers, counseling centers, mental health centers, and forensic or correctional agencies—its licensure rate is 94%. One standout feature that makes the program unique is the option to earn the certificate in the Foundations of Health Sciences Administration. The certificate confirms training in the way health care is delivered in the United States, particularly as it pertains to the economics of health care. Students have the option of using the four remaining elective credits not dedicated to their concentration to pursue the certificate.

In State Tuition: $41,990 Out-of-State Tuition: $41,990

The Psy.D. program at Wheaton College Graduate School begins with two years of academic coursework and assessments that culminate in a comprehensive examination at the end of the second year. The third year is dedicated both to practicum experience and to dissertation preparation and proposal. Year four involves advanced practicum work and dissertation continuation. Also that year, students will take a professional qualifying exam and apply for predoctoral internship work. During their fifth year, students will complete an internship and defend their dissertation. Christian theology is woven into the curriculum throughout, and the program’s clinical training portion is based on the school’s “serving the unserved” social philosophy. All students are assigned to “practicum seminar groups” supervised by Christian clinical psychologists.

Wheaton highlights several impressive statistics that reflect well on its program, including the fact that 99% of its students have matched at predoctoral internships since 2013 and 94% of eligible graduates went on to earn professional licensure in the past 10 years. The school is home to eight active research labs. There are several financial assistance opportunities, including research assistance, dissertation support, grants, and general scholarships ranging from $6,000 to $10,000.

In State Tuition: $50,451 Out-of-State Tuition: $50,451

The Psy.D. program at Palo Alto University is a unique program offered as a consortium in conjunction with nearby Stanford University. The program, which follows the practitioner-scholar model, provides a generalist education and is designed for students pursuing careers in the direct delivery of clinical psychological services. The faculty is drawn from both Palo Alto and Stanford Universities, and the curriculum includes coursework and practicum placements designed to prepare students for a predoctoral clinical internship and, eventually, a career in the field. The academic and practicum portion takes place over the course of four in-residence, full-time years of study. The internship is a 2,000-hour external experience that takes place over the course of the program’s fifth year.

The program offers several fellowships that are distributed based on criteria such as merit, need, and diversity. Research assistantships are also available to students who have completed the first year of the program. Also, several faculty members have been awarded research grants, which they sometimes use to hire students as assistants. The program boasts a 94% licensure rate among eligible graduates.

93% of recent graduates obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $37,111 Out-of-State Tuition: $37,111

The 122-credit Psy.D. program at Divine Mercy University is broken down into 101 credit hours of psychology, 12 credit hours of integrative studies in philosophy and theology, and at least 9 credit hours of dissertation research. The program, which is based on the practitioner-scholar model, also requires students to complete 1,800 hours of clinical externship. The first year of practicum training takes place in the on-campus IPS Center for the Psychological Services. Additional training taking place in both secular and nonsecular off-site clinical settings. The program also requires students to complete a 2,000-hour approved predoctoral internship, to author and defend a doctoral dissertation, as well as to pass a comprehensive exam.

The program, which has a licensure achievement rate of 93%, offers students the unique benefit of access to the IPS Center for Psychological Services . A training clinic exclusive to Divine Mercy, the facility provides area residents with low-cost mental health services including psychotherapy, educational assessment, personality assessment, and vocational/religious assessment. The center, and its six clinical offices, is where students complete their foundational practicum experiences.

In State Tuition: $29,250 Out-of-State Tuition: $29,250

Continuously accredited by the APA since 1989, the Spalding University Psy.D. program was among the first Psy.D. programs in the entire United States. The curriculum emphasizes ethical decision-making, social justice, and critical thinking through four years of practicum training that focuses on psychological assessment and the delivery of treatment. Students will have the opportunity to assess and treat underserved populations, particularly through the Center for Behavioral Health, which is Spalding’s community psychological services center. Students can also earn authorship on publications and presentations through participation in faculty-led research interest groups.

Unlike so many Psy.D. programs, the doctoral program at Spalding has a generous transfer policy—up to 30 hours of master’s level credits from a qualifying university are eligible. Aside from its 93% licensure rate, the program also boasts an impressive internship match rate. It was 100% in 2017 and 97% in 2018. Additionally, two HRSA-sponsored grants can help students pay for their education. A $2.6 million federal grant provides many students with tuition scholarships, and a $1.15 million grant offers stipend support to students who have completed certain practicum work.

In State Tuition: $13,092 Out-of-State Tuition: $31,593

Marshall University tailored its Psy.D. program specifically to attract students who are likely to practice in underserved rural areas—particularly in West Virginia—when they begin their careers. Therefore, 50% of the slots are reserved for residents of West Virginia and the surrounding region. One of the central goals of the program is to promote an understanding of the unique psychological, behavioral, and mental health needs of rural communities, particularly those in Appalachia, and to develop delivery models that meet those needs. It’s designed as a five-year program, but there are full-time and part-time tracks, as well as an advanced standing track for applicants with master’s degrees. Aside from coursework, research training, practicum experience, and a one- to two-year internship, students are required to complete a year of academic residency.

The program boasts a 93% licensure rate among eligible graduates. Much of that success can be credited to the program’s unique design, which explicitly draws students who are committed to careers in service-deprived rural regions in Appalachia. If you’re from the area and imagine a future serving the familiar community where you’ve spent your life, Marshall’s Psy.D. program offers a rare opportunity to study with a group of like-minded peers with similar backgrounds.

92% of recent graduates obtained licensure

In State Tuition: $37,517 Out-of-State Tuition: $37,517

The Psy.D. program at Midwestern University in Glendale is designed to be completed in four years of full-time study. It’s based on the practitioner-scholar model and combines coursework and clinical training experience. The program offers three types of training experiences. The first is a clerkship, which is field training based on observational learning that serves as an introduction to the practicum. The practicum itself is a 12-month field experience, and the doctoral internship takes place over the course of one full-time year or two half-time years. There are also integrated health-care and interdisciplinary opportunities, as well as a five-year neuropsychology concentration , which clinical psychology students can apply for during their first year of study.

The program stands out not only for its 92% licensure rate, but also its perfect 100% internship placement rate. It operates 45 clinical training sites, and because the program is based in a medical school, students have a unique opportunity for regular contact with medical professionals in a working healthcare environment.

In State Tuition: $32,878 Out-of-State Tuition: $32,878

The Marywood University Psy.D. degree program was designed to prepare students to provide clinical services in a way that is “ethical, humane, and culturally sensitive.” The 117-credit program includes training in both assessment and intervention strategies. Students will start with generalist foundational coursework and then engage in more concentrated and specific subject matter that students steer through elective selections. These concentrations could include practice with children, adolescents, and adults. The second year culminates with a comprehensive exam. That’s followed by the successful completion of an empirical master’s thesis or a professional contribution. The third year requires passage of the Clinical Qualifying Exam and completion and defense of a dissertation.

Not only does the program have a 92% licensure rate for eligible graduates, but it also offers several clubs and organizations dedicated specifically to psychology students. There’s the Psychology Club, which is open to all students, as well as Psi Chi, which is the National Psychology Honor Society. The newest edition is the ANST Club, which is the acronym for the Association of Neuropsychology Students in Training.

George Washington University (Washington, DC)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 90%

• In State Tuition: $46,340
• Out-of-State Tuition: $46,340

University of Denver (Denver, CO)

• In State Tuition: $68,448
• Out-of-State Tuition: $68,448

Pacific University, Oregon (Hillsboro, OR)

• In State Tuition: $35,685
• Out-of-State Tuition: $35,685

Antioch University Seattle (Seattle, WA)

• In State Tuition: $35,868
• Out-of-State Tuition: $35,868

Regent University (Virginia Beach, VA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 89%

• In State Tuition: $29,750
• Out-of-State Tuition: $29,750

Ponce Health Sciences University (Ponce, PR)

• In State Tuition: $17,307
• Out-of-State Tuition: $17,307

Antioch University New England (Keene, NH)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 88%

• In State Tuition: $37,986
• Out-of-State Tuition: $37,986

Loma Linda University (Loma Linda, CA)

• In State Tuition: $30,300
• Out-of-State Tuition: $30,300

Pace University (New York, NY)

• In State Tuition: $39,928
• Out-of-State Tuition: $39,928

Adler University – Chicago (Chicago, IL)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 87%

• In State Tuition: $49,980
• Out-of-State Tuition: $49,980

William James College (Newton, MA)

• In State Tuition: $47,200
• Out-of-State Tuition: $47,200

Chicago School of Professional Psychology Chicago Campus (Chicago, IL)

• In State Tuition: $52,200
• Out-of-State Tuition: $52,200

Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL)

• In State Tuition: $25,925
• Out-of-State Tuition: $25,925

Wright State University (Dayton, OH)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 86%

• In State Tuition: $33,224
• Out-of-State Tuition: $33,224

Widener University (Chester, PA)

• In State Tuition: $34,930
• Out-of-State Tuition: $34,930

Midwestern University (Downers Grove, IL campus) (Downers Grove, IL)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 85%

• In State Tuition: $33,768
• Out-of-State Tuition: $33,768

Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA)

• In State Tuition: $33,610
• Out-of-State Tuition: $33,610

Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey (Piscataway, NJ)

• In State Tuition: $36,144
• Out-of-State Tuition: $36,144

Nova Southeastern University (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

• In State Tuition: $44,660
• Out-of-State Tuition: $44,660

Biola University (La Mirada, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 84%

• In State Tuition: $35,757
• Out-of-State Tuition: $35,757

Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus (Brookville, NY)

• In State Tuition: $49,990
• Out-of-State Tuition: $49,990

University of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 83%

• In State Tuition: $920
• Out-of-State Tuition: $920

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (Philadelphia, PA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 82%

• In State Tuition: $38,874
• Out-of-State Tuition: $38,874

California Lutheran University (Oxnard, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 81%

• In State Tuition: $28,560
• Out-of-State Tuition: $28,560

Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 80%

• In State Tuition: $42,978
• Out-of-State Tuition: $42,978

University of La Verne (La Verne, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 79%

• In State Tuition: $37,600
• Out-of-State Tuition: $37,600

The Wright Institute (Berkeley, CA)

• In State Tuition: $37,650
• Out-of-State Tuition: $37,650

Pepperdine University (Los Angeles, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 78%

• In State Tuition: $64,200
• Out-of-State Tuition: $64,200

Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology (Milwaukee, WI)

• In State Tuition: $38,950
• Out-of-State Tuition: $38,950

Chestnut Hill College (Philadelphia, PA)

• In State Tuition: $33,825
• Out-of-State Tuition: $33,825

Alliant International University, San Diego (San Diego, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 76%

• In State Tuition: $37,975
• Out-of-State Tuition: $37,975

Alliant International University San Francisco Bay (San Francisco, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 75%

• In State Tuition: $41,650
• Out-of-State Tuition: $41,650

Immaculata University (Immaculata, PA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 72%

• In State Tuition: $25,470
• Out-of-State Tuition: $25,470

Carlos Albizu University, San Juan Campus (San Juan, PR)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 71%

• In State Tuition: $12,429
• Out-of-State Tuition: $12,429

John F. Kennedy University (Pleasant Hill, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 70%

• In State Tuition: $38,098
• Out-of-State Tuition: $38,098

Alliant International University Los Angeles (Alhambra, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 69%

• In State Tuition: $49,000
• Out-of-State Tuition: $49,000

Alliant International University Sacramento (Sacramento, CA)

Kean university (union, nj).

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 68%

• In State Tuition: $12,129
• Out-of-State Tuition: $12,129

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology – Washington, D.C. Campus (Washington, DC)

• In State Tuition: $46,252
• Out-of-State Tuition: $46,252

Chicago School of Professional Psychology Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 66%

• In State Tuition: $55,204
• Out-of-State Tuition: $55,204

Carlos Albizu University, Miami Campus (Miami, FL)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 63%

• In State Tuition: $33,600
• Out-of-State Tuition: $33,600

Alliant International University, Fresno (Fresno, CA)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 56%

• In State Tuition: $39,200
• Out-of-State Tuition: $39,200

Michigan School of Psychology (Farmington Hills, MI)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 55%

• In State Tuition: $39,852
• Out-of-State Tuition: $39,852

George Fox University (Newberg, OR)

Percent of recent graduates obtaining licensure: 0%

• In State Tuition: $29,440
• Out-of-State Tuition: $29,440

Are you seeking one-on-one college counseling and/or essay support? Limited spots are now available. Click here to learn more.

15 Best PsyD & PhD Clinical Psych Programs – 2024

January 19, 2024

The following list looks at the best clinical psych programs, some of which result in a PsyD while others lead to PhDs. The Doctor of Psychology, or PsyD, degree is a doctorate in psychology focused on clinical practice rather than research. So, depending on the program, your coursework will be dedicated more toward developing a patient-facing practice and less on conducting experiments and publishing research than with the PhD programs listed. Finding the best PsyD programs or PhD in clinical psych programs that suit you and your needs doesn’t need to be difficult. The first thing to look for will be a school that’s accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and/or the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).

The APA “assures the public, licensing boards and potential employers that you have a sound educational and scientific foundation on which to build a successful career in psychology,” and the school accreditation process guarantees that you’ll be receiving an education that will solidify your career and create credibility for you and your future clients.

Best Clinical Psych Programs (Continued)

Not only that, you’ll be entering a growing field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , the “overall employment of psychologists is projected to grow 6 percent from 2022 to 2032.” When you break out the average increase in demand for clinical and counseling psychologists, however, the BLS projects that the number of jobs will increase by about 11 percent . That’s faster than the average for every other occupation. There will be an estimated average of 12,800 new jobs for all psychologists each year until 2023. The median salary for psychologists was about $85,000 in 2022. This is higher than the average U.S. annual take-home pay across the board.

We’ve compiled the following list of accredited PsyD and PhD programs worth highlighting. The following schools will send you well on your way to serving the mental and emotional health of others while ensuring that you have ample opportunity to work closely with faculty, get real-world exposure, and enter the workforce competitively.

US News and World Report Methodology and Rankings 

US News and World Report has ranked the top accredited clinical psych programs in the country. In order to rank the schools, they survey faculty at 231 different, accredited PsyD and PhD clinical psych programs.  Faculty rate programs on a 1-5 scale judging academic quality. The rankings are determined by averaging each program’s scores. Unsurprisingly, this means there are a lot of ties. This also means that there are a ton of great schools out there. Therefore, you can’t go wrong with these top-tier, accredited programs.

Best PsyD Programs & Clinical Psych PhD Programs – Important Factors to Consider 

When applying to any graduate school, it’s important to assess how competitive admissions are, the amount of time you’ll spend in the program, the costs of the program, if funding is available (either full or partial), and what career placement possibilities look like upon graduation. In a field like clinical psychology, graduating without going into debt will make your career all the more successful. It will also allow you to give care to patients without attaching a dollar sign to them.

Let’s dive into the rankings: 

1)  UCLA

The University of California, Los Angeles is so universally renowned in psychology that it tops the list.

In addition to a dedicated Clinical Psychology concentration, the doctoral program also allows students to pursue Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive, Developmental, Health Psychology, Learning and Behavior, Quantitative, and Social Psychology.

The program is competitive; in 2023, there were 28 admitted students out of 1,226 applicants. Funding is available through fellowships, training, and teaching or research assistantships. The department strives to match students with funding upon admission, according to UCLA. However, they also recommend that students apply for external funding, as well. This means that full funding may not be guaranteed for everyone.

UCLA also touts a chapter of Underrepresented Graduate Students in Psychology (UGSP). This a student group which offers support and community to students from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic backgrounds.

2)  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

UNC Chapel Hill’s PsyD program boasts a long-running accreditation with the APA—they’ve held the status since 1949. The program is also accredited by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS). The program emphasizes “training in clinically-informed research and evidence-based clinical work,” and they recognize that your needs, desires, and goals may change over the course of your time in the program.

UNC is highly selective. Out of 681 applicants in 2023, just eight students were offered admission. Starting in 2020, UNC Chapel Hill stopped considering GRE scores as a factor in admissions, which saves you the pain and expense of the test (if you’ve applied only to other schools that also didn’t require the GRE).

The school also provides full tuition remission, health insurance, and a nine-month stipend for all incoming Clinical Psychology students for the first five years in the program. Chapel Hill proudly states that they have offered this package for the last 50 years. The stipend for the 2022-2023 academic year was $20,000. The full funding package is one of the many reasons that Chapel Hill is a competitive, highly-ranked option for aspiring clinicians.

Best PsyD Programs and PhD Programs in Clinical Psychology (Continued)

3) stony brook university (suny) .

Stony Brook’s Clinical Psych program began in 1966, and they’ve done well since then, maintaining a top spot on the US News and World Report rankings for decades. The program claims to prepare students for both research and clinical work from a broad range of psychological perspectives. Stony Brook says that their program is best suited to students who want to pursue academic and research-related careers, and that many graduates end up balancing their research with time spent serving patients in a clinical setting. In that way, Stony Brook is a great option for anyone who wants to work with patients while also contributing to the body of psychological research.

Stony Brook is accredited by the PCSAS as well as the APA. In the 2022-2023 academic year, 444 people applied, nine were offered admission, and six students accepted. All students admitted received a full, nine-month stipend (currently $17,502), full tuition remission, and health insurance. Summer funding is also available in the form of teaching assistantships, fellowships, research grants, and work studies. On average, students receive about $4,000 of summer funding, as well.

4) UC Berkeley

Taking into consideration that this is one of the best programs in the country, one of the most interesting things about UC Berkeley is its newly changed accreditation status. The program is PCSAS accredited, however, its APA status is “accredited – inactive,” and students will no longer matriculate through the APA version of the curriculum.

In short, the faculty and administration decided that the “evolving curricular and other demands” associated with APA accreditation were inconsistent with the kind of training they were trying to give their students, a training that would place paramount “reducing the burden of mental illness and related problems in living.” You can read the full statement here .

If that kind of pedagogical philosophy appeals to you, you might also consider that Berkeley has a rigorous program guided by its faculty advisor/mentor program. Students are matched from their first year with a faculty advisor who follows their progress throughout their four-to-six-year residency at the school.

There were 308 students who applied for the 2022-2023 academic year, four were granted admission, and four accepted. All of those students received an assistantship that includes a full tuition waiver. You can find out more about UC Berkeley’s financial assistance packages for psychology doctoral students here .

5)  University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 

An incredibly sought-after program, the University of Minnesota is both APA and PCSAS accredited. Following Berkeley’s lead, however, the school is considering letting go of its APA accreditation in the future.

The program offers students the options of an “adult” or “developmental” track, and the chosen focus does not limit students to practice with either children or adults. There were 10 total students for whom 2022-2023 was their first year of enrollment.

The University of Minnesota offers a wealth of funding options for students. All admitted students receive full tuition remission, health care, and a nine-month stipend. They also receive a new laptop computer to support their research. Beginning in 2022, all students were also guaranteed summer funding through a variety of diverse opportunities. Having a healthy funding package can make a huge difference in the life of a graduate student, and Minnesota does not disappoint. You can find more details about assistantship opportunities on their website .

6)  University of Washington, Seattle (tie with Minnesota)

According to the University of Washington Graduate Study in Psychology website, “We do not make offers to U.S. or International applicants unless we can fund them with either a Teaching or a Research Assistantship for half time (expected workload of 20 hrs/wk).” Sometimes, the program can also offer fellowships, which do not entail an expected workload. This financial security undoubtedly keeps UW performing well and ranking high on the list.

The department generally receives 800-1000 applications for 20 funded positions.

7)  University of Wisconsin, Madison (tie with Minnesota)

UW Madison’s Psychology Ph.D. program is highly competitive. It receives more than 400 applicants annually and accepting fewer than 10 percent of students.

While the program does not explicitly state that it guarantees full tuition remission and a stipend as the previous programs do, it does state that students frequently receive NSF and NIH predoctoral fellowships to complete their programs. Teaching and research assistantships are also available.

8)  University of Pennsylvania

If you’re going to UPenn, you’ll be living in the heart of Philadelphia. This, of course, also means a high cost of living. Luckily, this Ivy League institution boasts a stipend of at least $40,500 per year, full tuition remission, and summer funding opportunities. Funding is guaranteed for five years, the expected length of time to complete the program.

In terms of competitiveness, you’re looking at similar rates of acceptance as similarly ranked schools. The program website states, “Last year we received over 800 applications. We can accommodate about 8-10 new students per year.”

9)  University of Pittsburgh (tie with UPenn)

If you don’t go to UPenn, you can study in the western half of the state and still enjoy the same academic caliber.

Pitt also provides financial support for six years, and perhaps longer, depending on the student. The support includes a stipend which covers “living expenses, health insurance, public transportation, and tuition reimbursement.” It’s good to be a Panther!

10)  Harvard University 

Rounding out the top 10 is Harvard.

The standard financial aid package at this university is as robust as that of any school. That shouldn’t come as a surprise given Harvard’s elite status. According to the program website:

“The financial aid package for Ph.D. students entering in 2023 will include tuition and health fees support for years one through four, or five, if needed; stipend support in years one and two; a summer research grant equal to two months stipend at the end of years one through four; teaching fellowship support in years three and four guaranteed by the Psychology Department; and a dissertation completion grant consisting of tuition and stipend support in the appropriate year. Typically students will not be allowed to teach while receiving a stipend in years one and two or during the dissertation completion year.”

The nice thing about not “being allowed” to teach in the first two years is that students can concentrate solely on their coursework and intellectual and professional development, a real boon for clinicians in crimson.

More Great Programs 

The next seven schools all tied with Harvard in terms of rank on the US News and World Report list. They—and many others—certainly merit investigation and application, should you find yourself intrigued by the faculty, the opportunities, and, of course, the stipend.

• Indiana University, Bloomington (tie with Harvard)
• Penn State University, University Park (tie with Harvard)
• Temple University (tie with Harvard)
• University of Colorado, Boulder (tie with Harvard)
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (tie with Harvard)
• University of Texas, Austin (tie with Harvard)
• Washington University in St. Louis (tie with Harvard)

A Note About Online Clinical Psych Programs 

Because the emphasis in these programs is on training students to become clinicians in a therapeutic setting, there are currently no APA-accredited online PsyD or PhD programs . PCSAS doesn’t seem to have a direct statement about the nature of online programs. However, its list of accredited schools can be found here .

The world is changing and many people are pursuing telehealth therapy options online. This may change the educational landscape in the future. Finding the program that works for you means choosing a school that will set you up for the most success. An accredited degree is often the first step in the licensure and employment process.

Best PsyD Programs and PhD Programs in Clinical Psychology) – Additional Resources

If the PsyD program seems a little overwhelming, you might check out the best master’s programs in Psychology  and How to Become a Psychologist . If you’re ready to dive into applications, check out College Transition’s best advice on how to optimize your GRE score , the top GRE vocab words to study , and—if you’re worried—how to overcome a low GPA in the grad school admissions process .

• Graduate School Admissions

Brittany Borghi

After earning a BA in Journalism and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa, Brittany spent five years as a full-time lecturer in the Rhetoric Department at the University of Iowa. Additionally, she’s held previous roles as a researcher, full-time daily journalist, and book editor. Brittany’s work has been featured in The Iowa Review, The Hopkins Review, and the Pittsburgh City Paper, among others, and she was also a 2021 Pushcart Prize nominee.

• 2-Year Colleges
• Application Strategies
• Best Colleges by Major
• Best Colleges by State
• Big Picture
• Career & Personality Assessment
• College Essay
• College Search/Knowledge
• College Success
• Costs & Financial Aid
• Data Visualizations
• Dental School Admissions
• Extracurricular Activities
• High School Success
• High Schools
• Homeschool Resources
• Law School Admissions
• Medical School Admissions
• Navigating the Admissions Process
• Online Learning
• Outdoor Adventure
• Private High School Spotlight
• Research Programs
• Summer Program Spotlight
• Summer Programs
• Teacher Tools
• Test Prep Provider Spotlight

“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”

— Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Nationally Recognized College Expert

College Planning in Your Inbox

Join our information-packed monthly newsletter.

Online psychology program earns 2023 top 10 U.S. News ranking

Indiana University East School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) has developed its psychology program to offer an additional online degree completion program and most recently, a graduate program.

Now that hard work and attention to detail is paying off for HSS as the online degree program received its second top 10 U.S. News ranking.

For the second year in a row, an online psychology bachelor’s program offered through the Indiana University East Department of Psychology is in the top ten of the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Online Education Program rankings.

The B.S. in Psychology online is ranked No. 8 in the report released January 24.

U.S. News assessed an all-time high of 1,833 online degree programs and ranked 1,763 of them for the 2023 edition.

The Department of Psychology is part of the IU East School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Daren Snider, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, said IU East has created a remarkable experience for students in the psychology degree programs, whether classes are held in the classroom or online.

“The psychology faculty have been perceptive to the needs of students, and entrepreneurial in meeting those needs. They think well outside the four walls of the classroom and reach learners in creative ways, such as through mentoring them in research and cooperative work experiences,” Snider said.

The psychology program is an academic program geared toward the needs of employers and residents in east central Indiana and west Central Ohio, just like many of IU East 60 degree programs. And just like many of IU East’s academic programs, the online programs are extending beyond the region to provide a top quality education.

“Our psychology programs are tuned into the needs of our region and the people who live here; many of our students go on to work in a wide variety of industries in our region, including mental health counseling” Snider said. “IU East students benefit from learning with highly engaged instructors in an atmosphere that inspires them to grow and excel. Our psychology graduates frequently share about the personal and professional advantages they received by majoring in psychology at IU East.”

The psychology bachelor’s degree is part of IU Online. IU has been a forerunner in online programs at the undergraduate and graduate level for more than 20 years, now offering more than 200 online degree and certificate programs. A complete list of IU’s online programs is available on IU Online’s website .

Duane Lundy, Ph.D., chair of the Psychology Department and professor of psychology, said the online degree program is a good fit for a wide-variety of students. The program welcomes students from across the region and state of Indiana and beyond.

“We tend to have the kinds of students – often first-generation students – who really need our support to succeed,” Lundy said. “They need personable and well-trained advisors, and academically strong yet personable professors who provide user friendly ways to learn. In order to do this, we need to have manageable class sizes that allow personalized attention and step by step feedback to any student who wants to take advantage of such opportunities that are often not available at other institutions.”

Lundy joined the faculty at IU East in 2006 and became chair of the department in 2014. Though the psychology program has grown to include more faculty, the online psychology program and a Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling, it continues to offer students a solid foundation as it prepares them for a variety of professional careers and graduate work.

“We offer experiences inside and outside the classroom that allow students to get to know their professors and apply course concepts to their own lives and to the outside world. Our experiential learning options often include online students in study abroad, faculty-student research, and cooperative work experiences,” Lundy said.

The online psychology program opened for enrollment in 2012. The program has grown to have 400 majors, 80 percent who complete the degree program online, according to Lundy. He added graduates are regional, national and international locations ranging from 35 states and eight countries.

IU East online degree program in psychology received its first U.S. News ranking in 2022. HSS and the Department of Psychology celebrated the ranking in November.

About IU East Online Programs IU East’s online degree programs offer the high quality of an Indiana University degree to students throughout Indiana, nationally and internationally. IU East offers 52 options for students to complete a bachelor’s degree or certificate online in English with an emphasis in Technical and Professional Writing, Mathematics, Natural Science and Mathematics with a Mathematics Concentration, Communication Studies, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Political Science, Psychology, General Studies, an R.N. to B.S.N. Mobility Option, and more. IU East also offers a Graduate Certificate in Composition Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Mathematics.

Hali Cartee

Filed under:, more stories.

IU East Campus Library Hosts Health Literacy Event

Nursing job takes Streck full circle at children’s hospital

Social media.

• Twitter for IU East
• Facebook for IU East
• Instagram for IU East
• Youtube for IU East

Indiana University Columbus

Indiana university, about iu east.

• Our Mission

Email & Services

• IU Email (Exchange Online)
• Cloud Storage
• Knowledge Base
• IT Help & Training
• Student Success
• Faculty & Staff Resources
• Non-Discrimination Notice
• Consumer Disclosures
• Academic Calendar
• Campus Maps
• Safety & Emergency Info
• Health & Wellness Info

• Admitted Students
• Alumni & Friends
• Current Undergraduate Students
• Current Graduate Students
• Faculty & Staff

BC.EDU LINKS

• Boston College
• Campus Life
• Jesuit, Catholic
• Academic Calendar
• BC Magazine
• Directories
• Offices, Services, Resources
• Agora Portal
• Maps & Directions

Lynch School of Education and Human Development

Our students, faculty, and alumni are collaborative, creative, and committed to the common good. Join our community of change-makers.

• Master's Programs
• Doctoral Programs
• Undergraduate Programs
• Online Programs
• Professional & Continuing Education

Quick Facts

ranked graduate school of education U.S. News & World Report

ranked Catholic school of education U.S. News & World Report

financial aid awarded each year

Featured Research

Our faculty researchers are pursuing answers to society's most pressing challenges, from racial inequality in the classroom to youth mental health. Learn about their projects.

• MESA Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics & Assessment
• CDEP Counseling, Developmental & Educational Psychology
• ELHE Educational Leadership & Higher Education
• TCS Teaching, Curriculum, and Society
• DFE Department of Formative Education
• Research Projects
• Faculty Directory & Expertise

Initiatives With Impact

Catholic education research initiative, urban outreach initiatives, formative education initiative.

View All Initiatives

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice

“ The architecture of diversity and difference enables us as faculty to advance a broader, richer, and deeper understanding of how professionals in education and applied psychology can create a more just and compassionate world. ”

“ The Lynch School has a wonderful and distinctive mission: to enhance the human condition, expand the human imagination, and make the world more just. Through our research, teaching, and service, we strive to understand and create opportunities for others to develop as whole people across multiple interrelated dimensions—intellectually, spiritually, socially, emotionally, and ethically. ”

• About Dean Wortham
• Mission & Vision
• Dean's Podcast
• Read his book, "Migration Narratives"
• Main Calendar (web)
• Graduate Admissions
• Professional & Continuing Ed
• Center for International Higher Education
• Roche Center
• Center for Human Rights and International Justice

Student Startup Spreads Entrepreneurship Education

Transformative Education Studies major Dylan Kim '28 is putting his passion for education and his interest in business to use by co-founding a startup: MLV Ignite offers two-week summer programs to high school students in Vietnam with the goal of fostering an interest in entrepreneurship.

STEM project will engage underserved youth

The Charles River Collaboratory is an equity-focused makerspace guided by educators from BC's Lynch School and Engineering Department, with support from the Schiller Institute and a new grant from Cummings Foundation

Study explores impact of cannabis law on teens

BC researchers explore effect of cannabis legislation on teen substance abuse, including Professor Rebekah Levine Coley, and Naoka Carey, a doctoral candidate in the Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology Department of the Lynch School.

International summit on business ethics

Delegation from the Philippines visits Boston College

Nearly 20 lawmakers and higher education officials came to campus, part of the group's U.S. higher education learning exchange

Raquel Muñiz selected for the William T. Grant Scholars Class of 2029

Lynch School Assistant Professor Raquel Muñiz has received a William T. Grant Foundation Scholar Award, which supports early-career development for promising researchers. 

Connect With Us

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• NEWS FEATURE
• 09 July 2024
• Correction 12 July 2024

How PhD students and other academics are fighting the mental-health crisis in science

• Shannon Hall

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Illustration: Piotr Kowalczyk

You have full access to this article via your institution.

On the first day of her class, Annika Martin asks the assembled researchers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland to roll out their yoga mats and stand with their feet spread wide apart. They place their hands on their hips before swinging their torsos down towards the mat and back up again. The pose, called ‘wild goose drinking water’ is from Lu Jong, a foundational practice in Tantrayana Buddhism.

Martin, a health psychologist, can sense that some students are sceptical. They are academics at heart, many of whom have never tried yoga, and registered for Martin’s course to learn how to deal with the stress associated with academic research. Over the course of a semester, she teaches her students about stress and its impact on the body before giving them the tools to help cope with it — from yoga, meditation and progressive muscle relaxation to journalling.

It is one of many initiatives designed to combat the mental-health crisis that is gripping science and academia more broadly. The problems are particularly acute for students and early-career researchers, who are often paid meagre wages, have to uproot their lives every few years and have few long-term job prospects. But senior researchers face immense pressure as well. Many academics also experience harassment, discrimination , bullying and even sexual assault . The end result is that students and academics are much more likely to experience depression and anxiety than is the general population.

But some universities and institutions are starting to fight back in creative ways.

The beginning of a movement

The University of Zurich now offers academics several popular courses on mental health. Beyond Martin’s class, called ‘Mindfulness and Meditation’, one helps students learn how to build resilience and another provides senior researchers with the tools they need to supervise PhD candidates.

The courses are in high demand. “We have way more registrations than we have actual course spots,” says Eric Alms, a programme manager who is responsible for many of the mental-health courses at the University of Zurich. “I’m happy that my courses are so successful. On the other hand, it’s a sign of troubling times when these are the most popular courses.”

Several studies over the past few years have collectively surveyed tens of thousands of researchers and have documented the scope and consequences of science’s mental-health crisis.

In 2020, the biomedical research funder Wellcome in London, surveyed more than 4,000 researchers (mostly in the United Kingdom) and found that 70% felt stressed on the average work day . Specifically, survey respondents said that they felt intense pressure to publish — so much so that they work 50–60 hours per week, or more. And they do so for little pay, without a sense of a secure future. Only 41% of mid-career and 31% of early-career researchers said that they were satisfied with their career prospects in research.

The International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems run bootcamps involving activities such as painting. Credit: Alejandro Posada

A survey designed by Cactus Communications , a science-communication and technology company headquartered in Mumbai, India, analysed the opinions of 13,000 researchers in more than 160 countries in 2020 and found that 37% of scientists experienced discrimination, harassment or bullying in their work environment. This was especially true for researchers from under-represented groups and was the case for 42% of female researchers, 45% of homosexual researchers and 60% of multiracial researchers.

Yet some experts are hopeful that there is change afoot. As well as the University of Zurich, several other institutions have started to offer courses on mental health. Imperial College London, for example, conducts more than two dozen courses, workshops and short webinars on topics as diverse as menstrual health and seasonal depression. Most of these have been running for at least five years, but several were developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “At that time, the true dimension of the mental-health crisis in science was unveiled and potentially exacerbated by the lockdowns,” says Ines Perpetuo, a research-development consultant for postdocs and fellows at Imperial College London.

Desiree Dickerson, a clinical psychologist with a PhD in neuroscience who leads workshops at the University of Zurich, Imperial College London and other institutes around the world, says she has a heavier workload than ever before. “Before COVID, this kind of stuff wasn’t really in the spotlight,” she says. “Now it feels like it is gaining a solid foothold — that we are moving in the right direction.”

A mental-health crisis is gripping science — toxic research culture is to blame

Some of this change has been initiated by graduate students and postdocs. When Yaniv Yacoby was a graduate student in computer science at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for example, he designed a course to teach the “hidden curriculum of the PhD”. The goal was to help students to learn how to succeed in science (often by breaking down preconceived ideas), while creating an inclusive and supportive community. An adapted form of that course is now offered by both Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and the University of Washington in Seattle. And Yacoby has worked with other universities to develop single-session workshops to jump-start mental-health advocacy and normalize conversations about it in academia.

Similarly, Jessica Noviello, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, built a workshop series designed to target a key stressor for academics’ mental health: job insecurity, or specifically, the ability to find a job that aligns with career plans and life goals. She argues that most advisers lack experience outside academia, “making it hard for them to advise students about other career options”, and most institutes don’t have the resources to bring in outside speakers. Yet it is a key issue. The 2020 Wellcome survey found that nearly half of the respondents who had left research reported difficulty in finding a job.

So Noviello established the Professional Advancement Workshop Series (PAWS) in August 2021. The programme has run workshops and panel discussions about careers at national laboratories and in science journalism and media communications, science policy, data science, NASA management and more. And it has hosted two sessions on mental-health topics. “PAWS isn’t a programme that specifically set out to improve mental health in the sciences, but by building a community and having conversations with each other, the experts, and ourselves, I think we are giving ourselves tools to make choices that benefit us, and that is where mental health begins,” Noviello says.

Beyond the classroom

Although these courses and workshops mark a welcome change, say researchers, many wonder whether they are enough.

Melanie Anne-Atkins, a clinical psychologist and the associate director of student experience at the University of Guelph in Canada, who gives talks on mental health at various universities, says that she rarely sees universities follow through after her workshops. “People are moved to tears,” she says. “But priorities happen afterward. And even though they made a plan, it never rises to that. Because dollars will always come first.”

David Trang, a planetary geologist based in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Space Science Institute, is currently working towards a licence in mental-health counselling to promote a healthier work environment in the sciences. He agrees with Anne-Atkins — arguing that even individual researchers have little incentive to make broad changes. “Caring about mental health, caring about diversity, equity and inclusion is not going to help scientists with their progress in science,” he says. Although they might worry about these matters tremendously, Trang argues, mental-health efforts won’t help scientists to win a grant or receive tenure. “At the end of the day, they have to care about their own survival in science.”

Still, others argue that these workshops are a natural and crucial first step — that people need to de-stigmatize these topics before moving forward. “It is quite a big challenge,” Perpetuo says. “But you have to understand what’s under your control. You can control your well-being, your reactions to things and you can influence what’s around you.”

PhD students compete in a team-building relay race at a bootcamp run by the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems. Credit: Alejandro Posada

That is especially pertinent to the typical scientist who tends to see their work as a calling and not just a job, argues Nina Effenberger, who is studying computer science at the University of Tübingen in Germany. The Wellcome survey found that scientists are often driven by their own passion — making failure deeply personal. But a solid mental-health toolkit (one that includes the skills taught in many of the new workshops) will help them to separate their work from their identity and understand that a grant denial or a paper rejection is not the end of their career. Nor should it have any bearing on their self-worth, Effenberger argues. It is simply a part of a career in science.

Moreover, Dickerson argues that although systemic change is necessary, individuals will drive much of that change. “My sense is that if I can empower the individual, then that individual can also push back,” she says.

Many researchers are starting to do just that through efforts aimed at improving working conditions for early-career researchers, an area of widespread concern. The Cactus survey found that 38% of researchers were dissatisfied with their financial situation. And another survey of 3,500 graduate students by the US National Science Foundation in 2020 (see go.nature.com/3xbokbk) found that more than one-quarter of the respondents experienced food insecurity, housing insecurity or both.

In the United States, efforts to organize unions have won salary increases and other benefits, such as childcare assistance, at the University of California in 2022, Columbia University in New York City in 2023 and the University of Washington in 2023. These wins are part of a surge in union formation. Last year alone, 26 unions representing nearly 50,000 graduate students, postdocs and researchers, formed in the United States.

There has also been collective action in other countries. In 2022, for example, graduate students ran a survey on their finances, and ultimately won an increase in pay at the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems (IMPRS-IS), an interdisciplinary doctoral programme within the Max Planck Society in Munich, Germany.

Why the mental cost of a STEM career can be too high for women and people of colour

Union drives are only part of the changes that are happening beyond the classroom. In the past few years, Imperial College London has revamped its common rooms, lecture halls and other spaces to create more places in which students can congregate. “If they have a space where they can go and chat, it is more conducive to research conversations and even just personal connection, which is one of the key aspects of fostering mental health,” Perpetuo says. Imperial also introduced both one-day and three-day voluntary retreats for postdocs and fellows to build personal relationships.

The IMPRS-IS similarly runs ‘bootcamps’ or retreats for many of its doctoral students and faculty members. Dickerson spoke at the one last year. The programme also mandates annual check-ins at which students can discuss group dynamics and raise any issues with staff. It has initiated thesis advisory committees so that no single academic supervisor has too much power over a student. And it plans to survey its students’ mental health twice a year for the next three years to probe the mental health of the institute. The institute has even set various mental-health goals, such as high job satisfaction among PhD students regardless of gender.

Dickerson applauds this change. “One of the biggest problems that I see is a fear of measuring the problem,” she says. “Many don’t want to ask the questions and I think those that do should be championed because I think without measuring it, we can’t show that we are actually changing anything.”

She hopes that other universities will follow suit and provide researchers with the resources that they need to improve conditions. Last year, for example, Trang surveyed the planetary-science community and found that imposter syndrome and feeling unappreciated were large issues — giving him a focus for many future workshops. “We’re moving slowly to make changes,” he says. “But I’m glad we are finally turning the corner from ‘if there is a problem’ to ‘let’s start solving the problem.’”

Nature 631 , 496-498 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02225-8

Updates & Corrections

Correction 12 July 2024 : An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Nina Effenberger was involved in a survey on graduate-student finances that won an increase in pay.

Reprints and permissions

Related Articles

• Institutions

What is it like to attend a predatory conference?

Career Feature 18 JUL 24

The geneticist who uses science to free parents wrongly convicted of killing their children

Career Feature 16 JUL 24

Science on the edge: how extreme outdoor skills enhanced our fieldwork

Career Feature 15 JUL 24

The ‘PhD influencers’ logging lab life on TikTok and Instagram

News Feature 17 JUL 24

Generative AI makes for better scientific writing — but beware the pitfalls

Correspondence 16 JUL 24

Microbiologist wins case against university over harassment during COVID

News 12 JUL 24

Give UK science the overhaul it urgently needs

Comment 04 JUL 24

We can make the UK a science superpower — with a radical political manifesto

World View 18 JUN 24

Principal Researcher - Group Leader at Horizon Europe ERA Chair Action CryoEM@NOVA

Group Leader - permanent position as Principal Researcher - Horizon Europe ERA Chair Action CryoEM@NOVA.

Portugal (PT)

Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Principal Investigator Positions at the Institute for Immunology, CIMR, Beijing

CIMR invites applications for PI positions at all ranks.

Beijing, China

The Chinese Institutes for Medical Research (CIMR), Beijing

Postdoctoral Associate- Neurogenetics

Houston, Texas (US)

Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)

Senior Staff Scientist - Drosophila

Faculty positions in neurobiology, westlake university.

We seek exceptional candidates to lead vigorous independent research programs working in any area of neurobiology.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

School of Life Sciences, Westlake University

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Christen Szymanski, PhD

Christen Szymanski, PhD , a clinical psychologist, specializes in neurodevelopmental disorders, focusing on intervention and treatment for children who are deaf with additional disabilities. Szymanski received her degree from Gallaudet University and completed an internship at the Child Developmental and Rehabilitation Center at Oregon Health & Science University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities at the University of Rochester Medical School. Szymanski is deaf and identifies as part of the disability community. She is the director of Services for Students with disabilities at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Contributions

Szymanski combines her expertise as a psychologist and disability advocate to create equal opportunities for all, especially focusing on children who are deaf and also autistic. Her work ensures that these children receive the support and accommodations they need to thrive. She has extensive experience consulting for schools, emphasizing positive behavioral supports and accommodations, and has presented internationally on best practices for children with complex disabilities.

Notable publications

Szymanski, C. A., Brice, P. J., Lam, K. H., & Hotto, S. A. (2012). Deaf children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42 , 2027-2037. https:\doi.org\10.1007/s10803-012-1452-9

Szymanski, C. & Brice, P. J. (2008). When autism and deafness coexist in children: What we know now. Odyssey: New Directions in Deaf Education, 9 (1), 10-15. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ903163.pdf (PDF, 429KB)

Autism, Neurodevelopmental, Language