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Best Colleges for Psychology

50 Psychology programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Psychology, Georgetown University (District of Columbia) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $99,007. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$99,007	$17,500	106	93.9
2	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$73,646	$13,500	153	92.8
3	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$78,049	$13,000	80	92.3
4	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,461	$14,000	183	91.8
5	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$75,742	$17,000	122	91.7
6	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	Bachelor's Degree	$71,584	$11,187	100	91.7
7	Williams College Williamstown, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$72,891	$13,416	64	90.4
8	Lafayette College Easton, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,435	$16,000	66	90
9	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$67,249	$18,500	310	89.7
10	Rice University Houston, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$67,648	$12,505	77	89.5
11	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,033	$18,000	116	89.1
12	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$62,106	$11,000	193	88.8
13	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$69,793	$18,570	97	88.3
14	CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$64,619	$11,500	77	88.3
15	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	Master's Degree	$101,785	$20,500	41	88.3
16	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$61,050	$14,388	648	88.1
17	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$62,563	$17,625	405	87.8
18	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	Bachelor's Degree	$71,410	$17,256	—	87.4
19	Elon University Elon, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$69,856	$19,500	111	87.3
20	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$75,059	$19,250	39	87
21	College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$59,741	$13,000	357	86.8
22	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$59,149	$11,386	673	86.8
23	Villanova University Villanova, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,684	$21,500	105	86.2
24	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$62,794	$19,268	251	86.2
25	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,939	$21,160	63	85.9
26	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$74,178	$22,500	123	85.5
27	Utah State University Logan, UT	Master's Degree	$69,115	$20,934	97	85.3
28	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	Doctoral Degree	$131,290	—	—	85
29	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$62,032	$20,063	305	84.7
30	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,948	$18,902	431	84.5
31	CUNY Queens College Queens, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$57,210	$9,623	691	84.3
32	Duke University Durham, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$73,359	$15,415	0	84.3
33	University of Georgia Athens, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,446	$18,845	581	84.1
34	Davidson College Davidson, NC	Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma	$64,714	$18,500	—	84.1
35	Chapman University Orange, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,617	$20,500	138	84
36	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	Doctoral Degree	$98,544	—	—	83.9
37	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$60,466	$18,916	156	83.8
38	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$58,476	$13,051	125	83.8
39	CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY	Master's Degree	$60,494	$18,128	111	83.8
40	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$58,137	$16,750	591	83.7
41	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$64,814	$21,393	115	83.7
42	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$58,396	$17,750	550	83.7
43	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$65,356	$21,375	96	83.7
44	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Doctoral Degree	$100,014	—	36	83.6
45	Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,963	$21,500	150	83.3
46	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$60,958	$19,500	158	83.2
47	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,226	$17,924	158	83.2
48	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	Doctoral Degree	$103,154	—	28	82.9
49	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	Bachelor's Degree	$58,449	$19,012	523	82.9
50	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$72,136	$23,250	103	82.9

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How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Psychology field (CIP 42.01) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Psychology programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Psychology program?+

By our outcome score, Georgetown University (District of Columbia) ranks #1 for Psychology, with median graduate earnings of $99,007.

How are these Psychology programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Psychology programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.