Rankings by major · 390 schools scored

Best colleges for psychology

Every school we cover is scored 0–100 for psychology. The score blends how graduates in the major do four years out against the national norm for the same major, the strength of the student body, how many undergraduate courses the department lists, and the size of the program. Small programs (under five graduates a year) are capped. 80 and up is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Many psychology students go on to graduate or medical school, which early-career pay undercounts, so read this one alongside the school's overall strength.

The top psychology schools: Washington University in St. Louis, Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.

Top 100 colleges for psychology
Rank	School	Score (0–100)	Tier	Graduates per year in the major	Share of the class	Pay vs. national, same major	Acceptance rate
1	Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO	91	Standout	174	9.4%	1.36×	12%
1	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	91	Standout	148	8.6%	1.41×	6%
3	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	90	Standout	761	9.5%	1.21×	16%
3	Wesleyan University Middletown, CT	90	Standout	172	21.5%	–	16%
3	Duke University Durham, NC	90	Standout	133	7.2%	1.45×	5%
3	Williams College Williamstown, MA	90	Standout	63	12.3%	1.44×	9%
7	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	89	Standout	35	10.6%	–	9%
8	University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	87	Standout	1,097	11.8%	1.16×	9%
8	Tufts University Medford, MA	87	Standout	125	8.5%	1.43×	11%
10	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	86	Standout	244	10.4%	1.45×	16%
10	Columbia University New York, NY	86	Standout	166	7.5%	1.56×	5%
10	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	86	Standout	101	6%	1.26×	4%
10	Barnard College New York, NY	86	Standout	81	11.1%	1.18×	9%
10	Amherst College Amherst, MA	86	Standout	66	13.1%	1.24×	9%
10	Bates College Lewiston, ME	86	Standout	50	10.5%	1.30×	13%
16	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	85	Standout	112	5.2%	1.38×	11%
16	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA	85	Standout	69	12%	–	36%
16	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	85	Standout	68	12.1%	0.94×	14%
19	University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA	84	Standout	471	10%	1.10×	59%
19	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	84	Standout	250	12.1%	1.45×	7%
19	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	84	Standout	208	10%	1.19×	14%
19	Emory University Atlanta, GA	84	Standout	177	8.3%	1.18×	10%
19	Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA	84	Standout	38	12.9%	–	29%
24	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	83	Standout	125	7.2%	1.29×	4%
24	Smith College Northampton, MA	83	Standout	80	13.4%	0.92×	21%
24	Davidson College Davidson, NC	83	Standout	51	10.9%	–	13%
27	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	82	Standout	125	16.5%	1.46×	18%
27	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	82	Standout	100	7%	–	8%
27	Stanford University Stanford, CA	82	Standout	57	3.6%	–	4%
27	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	82	Standout	50	4%	1.14×	4%
27	Trinity College Hartford, CT	82	Standout	50	9.7%	1.38×	30%
27	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	82	Standout	29	6.9%	–	7%
33	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	81	Standout	642	8.4%	1.11×	80%
33	Georgetown University Washington, DC	81	Standout	100	5.6%	1.95×	13%
33	Rice University Houston, TX	81	Standout	66	6.4%	–	8%
33	Connecticut College New London, CT	81	Standout	55	13%	–	37%
33	Scripps College Claremont, CA	81	Standout	38	16.7%	–	38%
33	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	81	Standout	29	6.6%	–	7%
33	Carleton College Northfield, MN	81	Standout	29	6%	–	20%
33	Haverford College Haverford, PA	81	Standout	23	7.6%	1.24×	12%
41	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	80	Standout	173	9%	1.17×	42%
41	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	80	Standout	89	3.1%	1.44×	5%
41	University of Richmond Richmond, VA	80	Standout	56	7.3%	1.27×	22%
41	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	80	Standout	54	11.1%	1.12×	45%
45	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	79	Strong	430	8%	1.15×	54%
45	University of Denver Denver, CO	79	Strong	163	12.2%	1.11×	85%
45	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	79	Strong	123	6.4%	1.42×	48%
45	Lafayette College Easton, PA	79	Strong	48	6.9%	1.45×	31%
45	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	79	Strong	45	6.9%	1.17×	19%
45	Colby College Waterville, ME	79	Strong	43	8.1%	–	7%
45	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	79	Strong	41	6.2%	–	11%
52	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	78	Strong	181	11.4%	1.17×	34%
52	Chapman University Orange, CA	78	Strong	171	8.7%	1.25×	72%
52	Wake Forest University Winston Salem, NC	78	Strong	119	9.2%	1.28×	22%
55	The University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX	77	Strong	514	5%	1.12×	27%
55	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	77	Strong	262	7.7%	1.30×	46%
55	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	77	Strong	109	12.7%	1.22×	40%
55	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	77	Strong	105	8.1%	1.10×	35%
55	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY	77	Strong	98	17.1%	0.93×	24%
55	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	77	Strong	62	8.3%	–	14%
61	New York University New York, NY	76	Strong	499	7.3%	1.14×	9%
61	Yeshiva University New York, NY	76	Strong	76	13.3%	0.93×	56%
61	Yale University New Haven, CT	76	Strong	72	5.1%	1.18×	5%
61	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	76	Strong	58	8.9%	0.95×	34%
61	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	76	Strong	51	4.9%	1.78×	6%
61	Denison University Granville, OH	76	Strong	45	8.3%	–	17%
61	Union College Schenectady, NY	76	Strong	45	9.2%	–	44%
68	University at Buffalo–SUNY Buffalo, NY	75	Strong	564	10.9%	1.03×	81%
68	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	75	Strong	390	4.4%	1.17×	11%
68	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	75	Strong	156	9.3%	1.20×	45%
68	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	75	Strong	71	8.1%	1.31×	29%
68	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	75	Strong	63	5%	1.48×	29%
68	United States Military Academy at West Point West Point, NY	75	Strong	58	5.5%	–	12%
68	Kenyon College Gambier, OH	75	Strong	47	10.2%	–	31%
68	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	75	Strong	30	6.8%	–	14%
68	Pomona College Claremont, CA	75	Strong	20	5.5%	–	7%
77	University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	74	Strong	777	8.8%	1.07×	29%
77	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	74	Strong	242	5.4%	1.24×	17%
77	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	74	Strong	70	1.9%	1.54×	9%
77	St. Olaf College Northfield, MN	74	Strong	69	9.9%	1.01×	43%
77	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	74	Strong	33	5.7%	–	26%
77	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	74	Strong	30	6.1%	–	14%
77	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	74	Strong	27	1.7%	1.63×	11%
77	Reed College Portland, OR	74	Strong	24	8.1%	0.72×	29%
85	University of Massachusetts–Amherst Amherst, MA	73	Strong	617	9.8%	1.01×	60%
85	University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD	73	Strong	508	6%	1.14×	45%
85	University of Washington Seattle, WA	73	Strong	496	5.7%	1.04×	39%
85	Boston University Boston, MA	73	Strong	306	6.5%	1.26×	13%
85	University of Delaware Newark, DE	73	Strong	226	5.2%	1.14×	71%
85	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	73	Strong	191	6.6%	1.07×	19%
85	George Washington University Washington, DC	73	Strong	170	5.8%	1.47×	47%
85	Brown University Providence, RI	73	Strong	65	3.9%	1.14×	5%
85	Spelman College Atlanta, GA	73	Strong	63	13%	1.04×	24%
85	The University of the South Sewanee, TN	73	Strong	46	11.5%	1.16×	57%
95	University of California, Davis Davis, CA	72	Strong	958	11%	1.03×	44%
95	University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI	72	Strong	589	7.9%	1.16×	45%
95	Rutgers University–New Brunswick Piscataway, NJ	72	Strong	585	6.9%	1.11×	58%
95	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	72	Strong	585	8.6%	1.12×	78%
95	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	72	Strong	573	6.8%	1.08×	42%
95	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	72	Strong	496	5.6%	1.11×	85%

290 more schools are on the full psychology ranking.

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