2025 Best General Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools

Ranked #20 in popularity, general psychology is one of the most sought-after doctor's degree programs in the nation. 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 44 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best General Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,634 doctor's degrees in general psychology during the <nil> academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great General Psychology School for Your Doctor's Degree

The psychology doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality psychology program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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 general psychology students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other general psychology students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• 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.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized general psychology related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general psychology students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The 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 General Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study General Psychology in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in general psychology.

10 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Psychology

1

Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

12 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a doctor's degree in general psychology. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from Northwestern University

2

University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

16 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Virginia - Main Campus if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in general psychology. University of Virginia is a very large public university located in the suburb of Charlottesville.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from University of Virginia - Main Campus

3

Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

16 Annual Graduates

Vanderbilt University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in general psychology. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from Vanderbilt University

4

Boston University
Boston, MA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

11 Annual Graduates

Boston University is a good choice for students interested in a doctor's degree in general psychology. Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from Boston University

5

University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

28 Annual Graduates

UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from University of California - Los Angeles

6

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

23 Annual Graduates

UF is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from University of Florida

7

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

10 Annual Graduates

Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from Michigan State University

8

George Mason University
Fairfax, VA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

23 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from George Mason University

9

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

11 Annual Graduates

UMass Amherst is a very large public university located in the city of Amherst.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from University of Massachusetts Amherst

10

Miami University - Oxford
Oxford, OH

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

11 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in general psychology from Miami University - Oxford

General Psychology by Region

View the Best General Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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General Psychology Related Rankings by Major

One of 0 majors within the General Psychology area of study, General Psychology has other similar majors worth exploring.

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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to BruceBlaus. More about our data sources and methodologies.