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

Ranked #7 in popularity, clinical, counseling & applied psychology is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 7 schools in Virginia to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Combined, these schools handed out 1,771 master's degrees in clinical, counseling & applied psychology to qualified students.

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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for clinical, counseling & applied psychology students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools

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 Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools in Virginia list to help you make the college decision.

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

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for clinical, counseling & applied psychology students seeking a a master's degree.

Top Virginia Schools for a Master's in Clinical Psychology

1

James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

10 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat James Madison University if you want to pursue a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. JMU is a very large public university located in the small city of Harrisonburg.More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from James Madison University

2

University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA

59 Annual Graduates

$54,093 Median Starting Salary

University of Virginia - Main Campus is a wonderful option for students interested in a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their master's degree from University of Virginia - Main Campus earn $5,292 more than the standard clinical psychology grad.

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

3

William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA

11 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology needs to look into William & Mary. Located in the small suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from William & Mary

4

George Mason University
Fairfax, VA

116 Annual Graduates

George Mason University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. GMU is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Fairfax.More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from George Mason University

5

Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA

1,392 Annual Graduates

$41,821 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the clinical psychology program report average early career earnings of $41,821.

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

6

Marymount University
Arlington, VA

86 Annual Graduates

$50,490 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Arlington, Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the clinical psychology program state that they receive average early career income of $50,490.

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

7

Regent University
Virginia Beach, VA

22 Annual Graduates

Regent is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Virginia Beach.More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Regent University

Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	208	1,276
Georgia	190	231
North Carolina	178	64
Tennessee	166	210
Alabama	151	217
Kentucky	147	685
Louisiana	147	52
South Carolina	146	100
Mississippi	145	21
Arkansas	121	0
West Virginia	112	5

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	1,131
Applied Psychology	261
Industrial & Organizational Psychology	97
Educational Psychology	89
Forensic Psychology	86
Applied Behavior Analysis	67
Clinical Psychology	29
School Psychology	10
Other Psychology & Counseling	1

Majors Similar to Clinical Psychology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Psychology	260

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.