Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #7 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 358 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 26,529 master's degrees in clinical, counseling & applied psychology to qualified students.
DEBUG: Checking offer "Applied Psychology (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Applied Psychology (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Psychology Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Psychology Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Psychology EdS Programs (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Psychology EdS Programs (I Have a Masters)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Psychology Graduate Certificate Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Psychology Graduate Certificate Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Psychology PhD Programs (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Psychology PhD Programs (I Have a Masters)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Psychology PsyD Programs (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Psychology PsyD Programs (I Have a Masters)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Science & Engineering Masters Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Science & Engineering Masters Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Clinical Mental Health Counseling (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Clinical Mental Health Counseling (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BA in Psychology" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BA in Psychology" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Psychology" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Psychology" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Counselor Education (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.7
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Counselor Education (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.7)
DEBUG: Checking offer "General Psychology (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "General Psychology (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "General Psychology (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "General Psychology (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "General Psychology (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "General Psychology (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "DNP - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a BSN)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "DNP - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a BSN)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a BSN)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a BSN)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Grad Cert - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a MSN)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Grad Cert - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a MSN)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "DNP - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a MSN)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "DNP - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a MSN)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have an ADN, ASN, or RN Diploma)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have an ADN, ASN, or RN Diploma)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 12
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 8 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 8
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 1 offers with relevance >= 1.0
Choosing a Great Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology School for Your Master's Degree
The clinical psychology master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. 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 account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of different 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 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
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 clinical, counseling & applied 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 clinical, counseling & applied psychology related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for clinical, counseling & applied psychology students working on their master's degree.
The clinical psychology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools.
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = "psychology//clinical-counseling-applied-psychology"
DEBUG: Checking offer "Science & Engineering Masters Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Science & Engineering Masters Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Clinical Mental Health Counseling (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Clinical Mental Health Counseling (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Psychology" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Psychology" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "General Psychology (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "General Psychology (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a BSN)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a BSN)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have an ADN, ASN, or RN Diploma)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have an ADN, ASN, or RN Diploma)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 3
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 2 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 2
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 0 offers with relevance >= 1.0
DEBUG: Backfilling with 1 offers with relevance >= 0.9
ADBLOCK #171
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology in the United States
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools for a Master's in Clinical Psychology
Northwestern University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program earn an average of $43,591 in their early career salary.
University of Pennsylvania is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.
Students who graduate with their master's from the clinical psychology program report average early career income of $52,641.
Every student who is interested in a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology needs to check out University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their master's degree from University of Southern California make $18,903 more than the typical clinical psychology student.
Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology has to take a look at Northeastern University. Located in the city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Master's recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology degree program at Northeastern University earn $6,758 more than the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago get an earnings boost of about $10,524 over the average earnings of clinical, counseling & applied psychology majors.
Located in the city of Melbourne, Florida Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Master's recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology major at Florida Institute of Technology earn $17,322 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Santa Clara.
Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their master's degree from Santa Clara University receive $12,947 more than the average clinical psychology student.
Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the city of College Station.
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from Texas A&M University - College Station receive an earnings boost of about $7,909 over the average earnings of clinical, counseling & applied psychology majors.
Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.
Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their master's degree from University of San Francisco earn $12,764 more than the standard clinical psychology student.
National University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego.
Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their master's degree from National University make $5,240 more than the average clinical psychology grad.
UCONN is a fairly large public university located in the town of Storrs.
Master's recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology program at University of Connecticut earn $2,428 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from George Washington University receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,947 above the average earnings of clinical, counseling & applied psychology majors.
Cal Baptist is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Riverside.
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from California Baptist University earn a boost of about $2,705 over the average income of clinical, counseling & applied psychology majors.
UGA is a very large public university located in the city of Athens.
Master's recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology degree program at University of Georgia earn $12,368 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Boston, Simmons is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.
Master's recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology degree program at Simmons University earn $15,579 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.
Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their master's degree from California State University - Monterey Bay receive $31,418 more than the average clinical psychology grad.
Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from California State University - Long Beach earn a boost of around $28,406 above the typical earnings of clinical, counseling & applied psychology majors.
Hofstra is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Hempstead.
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from Hofstra University get an earnings boost of around $10,586 over the average income of clinical, counseling & applied psychology graduates.
DEBUG: Checking offer "General Psychology (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "General Psychology (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a BSN)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have a BSN)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have an ADN, ASN, or RN Diploma)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MSN - Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (I Have an ADN, ASN, or RN Diploma)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 3
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 3 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.5
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 3
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 0 offers with relevance >= 1.0
DEBUG: Backfilling with 0 offers with relevance >= 0.9
DEBUG: Backfilling with 0 offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: Backfilling with 0 offers with relevance >= 0.7
DEBUG: Backfilling with 1 offers with relevance >= 0.6
Additional Award Winners
This list shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 358 different United States clinical, counseling & applied psychology schools we analyzed.
Here are some additional great schools for Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology students that almost earned our Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
The clinical psychology master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
