2025 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools in Washington

If you pursue a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #7 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 6 schools in Washington to determine which ones were the best for clinical, counseling & applied psychology students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 293 master's degrees in clinical, counseling & applied psychology during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of clinical, counseling & applied psychology for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality clinical psychology program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on clinical, counseling & applied psychology students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other clinical, counseling & applied psychology students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt clinical, counseling & applied psychology students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized clinical, counseling & applied psychology related body.

Our complete 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.

More Ways to Rank Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools

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 in Washington.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology in Washington

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology.

Top Washington Schools for a Master's in Clinical Psychology

1

Central Washington University
Ellensburg, WA

20 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Central Washington University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the distant town of Ellensburg, CWU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Central Washington University

2

Seattle University
Seattle, WA

23 Annual Graduates

$81,366 Median Starting Salary

Seattle University is a great option for students interested in a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Seattle U is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Seattle.

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from Seattle University receive an earnings boost of around $20,966 above the average earnings of clinical, counseling & applied psychology graduates.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Seattle University

3

University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA

30 Annual Graduates

$58,061 Median Starting Salary

University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a good option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the clinical psychology program state that they receive average early career income of $58,061.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

4

Eastern Washington University
Cheney, WA

57 Annual Graduates

$70,143 Median Starting Salary

Eastern Washington University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the fringe town of Cheney, EWU is a public university with a large student population.

Master's recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology major at Eastern Washington University earn $9,743 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Eastern Washington University

5

Seattle Pacific University
Seattle, WA

20 Annual Graduates

$67,399 Median Starting Salary

SPU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Seattle.

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from Seattle Pacific University earn a boost of about $6,999 above the typical earnings of clinical, counseling & applied psychology graduates.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Seattle Pacific University

6

Northwest University
Kirkland, WA

18 Annual Graduates

$57,369 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Kirkland, Northwest University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly small student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program earn about $57,369 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Northwest University

Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
California	253	4,686
Oregon	158	168
Nevada	105	4
Hawaii	85	104
Alaska	52	12

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Clinical Psychology

One of 24 majors within the Psychology area of study, Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Clinical Psychology Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Counseling Psychology	162
School Psychology	81
Clinical Child Psychology	30
Industrial & Organizational Psychology	20

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Psychology	39
Child Development & Psychology	33

Notes and References

• 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.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.