2024 Best Psychology Master's Degree Schools
a master's degree in
psychology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #7 out of 37 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 572 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Psychology Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 32,270 master's degrees in psychology to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Psychology School for Your Master's Degree
The psychology master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality psychology program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to psychology students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other psychology students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for psychology to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized psychology related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for psychology students working on their master's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Psychology Master's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Psychology in the United States
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in psychology. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools for a Master's in Psychology
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
82
Annual Graduates
Harvard University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a master's degree in psychology. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in psychology from Harvard University
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
279
Annual Graduates
Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in psychology needs to check out Northwestern University. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in psychology from Northwestern University
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
196
Annual Graduates
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in psychology needs to take a look at University of Pennsylvania. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in psychology from University of Pennsylvania
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
338
Annual Graduates
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles is a good decision for students pursuing a master's degree in psychology. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
12
Annual Graduates
Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a master’s in psychology from Duke University