Best universities for psychology degrees in the US 2024

By Joy.Hunter@tim…, 7 November, 2023

Top 10 universities in the US for psychology degrees 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities for psychology in the US

US psychology rank 2024	Psychology rank 2024	University	State
1	1	Stanford University	California
2	2	Princeton University	New Jersey
3	4	Harvard University	Massachusetts
4	5	University of California, Berkeley	California
5	7	Yale University	Connecticut
6	8	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania
7	9	The University of Chicago	Illinois
8	11	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan
9	12	University of California, Los Angeles	California
10	13	Columbia University	New York

The US higher education system offers flexible course options, and most undergraduates can study a range of subjects before declaring their specialisation or major at the end of their second year.

Psychology is a popular major or minor choice for students in the US. Students can study a range of topics, including cognitive psychology, social behaviours and abnormal psychology. Students often get the chance to be involved in research projects with academics at their institutions.

Postgraduate options are varied and usually require students to undertake a large independent research project.

Below are the best universities in the US for psychology degrees.

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5. Yale University

Yale University's department of psychology offers programmes in psychology to undergraduates, postgraduates and PhD candidates.

Undergraduate students are able to pursue a psychology major or students more interested in neuroscience can take the neuroscience track. Students are able to then specialise further based on their interests and career goals. Undergraduate students are also able to take part in research opportunities within the department.

The department offers doctoral training in the following areas: clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience, and social/personality psychology. Applicants must indicate which of these areas they wish to focus on.

The Psychology department was established at Yale University in the 1940s by Carl Hovland.

4. University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley’s department of psychology was established as a stand-alone department in 1921, having previously been part of the department of philosophy.

UC Berkeley offers undergraduate and graduate degree programmes in psychology, focusing on six areas: behavioural neuroscience; cognition; development; clinical science; cognitive neuroscience and social-personality psychology.

Undergraduates can study either a major or a minor in psychology. There is a wide range of co-curricular activities for undergraduates, such as research, internships and field study.

The UC Berkeley Psychology Clinic has served the public of the Bay Area for more than 50 years and provides training to psychology students to help them prepare for their professional future.

What can you do with a psychology degree?

3. Harvard University

Psychology is one of the most popular courses among Harvard University undergraduates, and the subject can be studied alongside a range of other disciplines.

The undergraduate major in psychology at Harvard offers courses from introductory level to more advanced as students progress through their degree.

Students are given flexibility in their learning through a number of tracks, such as the general cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology track or the cognitive science track.

The graduate programme in psychology at Harvard covers four major research areas: cognition, brain and behaviour; developmental psychology; social psychology and clinical science.

2. Princeton University

Princeton University is a member of the Ivy League and its psychology department, was established more than a century ago.

Princeton undergraduates can study the psychology major as part of the Bachelor of Arts programme.

As well as learning about the psychology of language, movement and social interaction, students will learn basic statistical methods. They will also undertake courses in neuroscience.

At the graduate level, students can undertake the Doctor of Philosophy with psychology as their specialism.

The department is closely affiliated with the Center for the Study of Brain, Mind and Behaviour (CSBMB), which conducts research on the neural underpinnings of psychological function. The CSBMB houses facilities for the study of brain function, including a research-dedicated, high-field fMRI scanner, an EEG laboratory, an eye-tracking laboratory and high-performance computing facilities for data analysis and computational modelling.

1. Stanford University

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford University was founded in 1885 by Jane and Leland Stanford.

The psychology department was one of the first to be established at the institution.

Psychology courses at Stanford are split into five major areas: affective science, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and social psychology. Students can choose courses from any of these departments.

Undergraduates can take the psychology major or minor programme as part of a Bachelor of Arts degree. They will study a range of topics, including abnormal psychology, cultural psychology and clinical psychology. Undergraduates also have the opportunity to conduct independent research for course credit.

Graduate courses are available through Stanford’s extended doctorate in psychology programme, where no master’s degree is required.

Among the department’s famous work is the Stanford prison experiment of the 1970s, which investigated the effects of perceived power on people’s conduct. The Stanford marshmallow experiment looked at delayed gratification in children and was completed in the same decade.

Top universities in the US for psychology degrees 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results

US psychology rank 2024	Psychology rank 2024	University	State
1	1	Stanford University	California
2	2	Princeton University	New Jersey
3	4	Harvard University	Massachusetts
4	5	University of California, Berkeley	California
5	7	Yale University	Connecticut
6	8	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania
7	9	The University of Chicago	Illinois
8	11	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan
9	12	University of California, Los Angeles	California
10	13	Columbia University	New York
11	14	New York University	New York
=12	=20	Duke University	North Carolina
=12	=20	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland
14	24	Northwestern University	Illinois
15	=25	University of Minnesota	Minnesota
16	27	Carnegie Mellon University	Pennsylvania
17	29	Cornell University	New York
18	33	University of Texas at Austin	Texas
19	34	University of California, Davis	California
20	35	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Illinois
21	38	University of California, Irvine	California
22	=39	University of California, San Diego	California
23	41	Vanderbilt University	Tennessee
24	42	University of Washington	Washington
25	43	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Wisconsin
26	45	University of Virginia (Main campus)	Virginia
27	=46	Ohio State University (Main campus)	Ohio
28	48	Brown University	Rhode Island
29	49	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina
30	52	Washington University in St Louis	Missouri
31	=54	Indiana University	Indiana
32	57	Boston University	Massachusetts
33	58	Penn State (Main campus)	Pennsylvania
34	60	University of Maryland, College Park	Maryland
35	67	Purdue University West Lafayette	Indiana
36	=74	University of California, Santa Barbara	California
37	78	University of Rochester	New York
38	81	Michigan State University	Michigan
39	85	University of Florida	Florida
40	87	Dartmouth College	New Hampshire
41	90	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus	Pennsylvania
=42	=95	University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado
=42	=95	University of Iowa	Iowa
44	100	University of Southern California	California
=45	101–125	Arizona State University (Tempe)	Arizona
=45	101–125	University of Connecticut	Connecticut
=45	101–125	Emory University	Georgia
=45	101–125	University of Massachusetts	Massachusetts
=45	101–125	University of Notre Dame	Indiana
=50	126–150	University of Arizona	Arizona
=50	126–150	Florida State University	Florida
=50	126–150	University of Georgia	Georgia
=50	126–150	Georgia Institute of Technology	Georgia
=50	126–150	Northeastern University, US	Illinois
=50	126–150	Stony Brook University	New York
=56	151–175	University of Denver	Colorado
=56	151–175	George Washington University	Washington
=56	151–175	Mizzou - University of Missouri	Missouri
=56	151–175	Rutgers University – New Brunswick	New Jersey
=56	151–175	Washington State University	Washington
=61	176–200	Boston College	Massachusetts
=61	176–200	University of California, Riverside	California
=61	176–200	University of California, Santa Cruz	California
=61	176–200	Drexel University	Pennsylvania
=61	176–200	University of Miami	Florida
=61	176–200	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Nebraska
=61	176–200	Texas A&M University	Texas
=61	176–200	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Virginia
=69	201–250	University of Delaware	Delaware
=69	201–250	Florida International University	Florida
=69	201–250	George Mason University	Virginia
=69	201–250	University of Illinois Chicago	Illinois
=69	201–250	Iowa State University	Iowa
=69	201–250	University of Kansas	Kansas
=69	201–250	North Carolina State University	North Carolina
=69	201–250	University of Oregon	Oregon
=69	201–250	Rice University	Texas
=69	201–250	University of South Florida	Florida
=69	201–250	Temple University	Pennsylvania
=69	201–250	Tufts University	Massachusetts
=69	201–250	Virginia Commonwealth University	Virginia
=82	251–300	Baylor University	Texas
=82	251–300	Bowling Green State University	Ohio
=82	251–300	University at Buffalo	New York
=82	251–300	University of California, Merced	California
=82	251–300	Case Western Reserve University	Ohio
=82	251–300	Clark University	Massachusetts
=82	251–300	University of Colorado Denver /Anschutz Medical Campus	Colorado
=82	251–300	Georgia State University	Georgia
=82	251–300	University of Houston	Texas
=82	251–300	University of Kentucky	Kentucky
=82	251–300	Saint Louis University	Missouri
=82	251–300	University of Toledo	Ohio
=82	251–300	University of Utah	Utah
=82	251–300	Wake Forest University	North Carolina
=96	301–400	University of Arkansas	Arkansas
=96	301–400	Auburn University	Alabama
=96	301–400	Brandeis University	Massachusetts
=96	301–400	University of Central Florida	Florida
=96	301–400	Colorado State University, Fort Collins	Colorado
=96	301–400	Florida Atlantic University	Florida
=96	301–400	University of Hawai’i at Mānoa	Hawai'i
=96	301–400	Kansas State University	Kansas
=96	301–400	Lehigh University	Pennsylvania
=96	301–400	Louisiana State University	Louisiana
=96	301–400	University of Memphis	Tennessee
=96	301–400	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	Nevada
=96	301–400	The New School	New York
=96	301–400	Northern Illinois University	Illinois
=96	301–400	Ohio University (Main campus)	Ohio
=96	301–400	Oklahoma State University	Oklahoma
=96	301–400	Portland State University	Ohio
=96	301–400	San Diego State University	California
=96	301–400	University of South Carolina-Columbia	South Carolina
=96	301–400	SUNY Binghamton University	New York
=96	301–400	Syracuse University	New York
=96	301–400	University of Texas at Arlington	Texas
=96	301–400	Texas Tech University	Texas
=96	301–400	Tulane University	Louisiana
=96	301–400	Wayne State University	Michigan
=121	401–500	University of Alabama	Alabama
=121	401–500	American University	Washington
=121	401–500	Central Michigan University	Michigan
=121	401–500	Chapman University	California
=121	401–500	Illinois Institute of Technology	Illinois
=121	401–500	Marquette University	Wisconsin
=121	401–500	Mississippi State University	Mississippi
=121	401–500	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	North Carolina
=121	401–500	Old Dominion University	Virginia
=121	401–500	University of Rhode Island	Rhode Island
=121	401–500	Rochester Institute of Technology	New York
=121	401–500	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	Tennessee
=121	401–500	University of Texas at Dallas	Texas
=121	401–500	University of Texas at El Paso	Texas
=121	401–500	The University of Texas at San Antonio	Texas
=121	401–500	Texas State University	Texas
=121	401–500	Western Michigan University	Michigan
=121	401–500	William & Mary	Virginia
=121	401–500	University of Wyoming	Wyoming
=140	501–600	Adelphi University	New York
=140	501–600	Florida Institute of Technology	Florida
=140	501–600	Georgia Southern University	Georgia
=140	501–600	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	Maryland
=140	501–600	Montana State University	Montana
=140	501–600	New Mexico State University (Main campus)	New Mexico
=140	501–600	Nova Southeastern University	Florida
=140	501–600	Oakland University	Michigan
=140	501–600	Rowan University	New Jersey
=140	501–600	University of South Dakota	South Dakota
=140	501–600	University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	Texas