Choosing a Psychology Program

Choosing a psychology program is one of the most important decisions a prospective student can make, so we have put together this list of things to consider so that you can make an informed decision.

• One indicator of a great psychology program is the opportunity to work with people who are very experienced in the field and gain technical research experience. For example, Stanford University, ranked number one among the top psychology colleges in the United States by College Crunch, has more than a dozen research labs devoted to psychological studies and multiple professors in the department who received awards for their work in 2009. Not to mention, the department has been around for 118 years.
• The program’s accreditation can definitely have an affect on a student’s eligibility to receive a state license. To avoid accreditation problems, students should look for programs that are accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).
• While there are many online psychology degrees offered, it is important to check the accreditation of the program to ensure eligibility of participation in state licensing exams. 
• There are various websites and institutions that rank psychology schools each year based on a wide range of specifications. Examination of these rankings will shed some light on the reputation of different programs.
• When considering undergraduate or graduate psychology programs, it is important to define an area of interest and make sure the programs provide opportunities to explore that interest.
• Deciding what type of program to enroll in is one very important step in itself. There are bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs as well as education specialist programs. Bachelor’s degree programs can be completed at the undergraduate level, while master’s and doctoral degrees are completed at the graduate level. The education specialist certification is obtained through a certificate program following a master’s degree and is a minimum requirement for school psychologists.
• Reading up on different programs helps when deciding on a program. The American Psychological Association published a book called "Graduate Study in Psychology" that discusses many different graduated programs in the United States, organized by state.
• When looking at specific programs, students should consult with people who have already completed or are enrolled in the program to get a first-hand account of the attributes or weaknesses the program may have.
• Prospective students should research what faculty members are working on and keep an eye out for faculty performing ground-breaking research in the field they would like to enter.

Top 10 Schools for Psychology

• Harvard University – Harvard’s psychology department has been around since the 1800s and has been one of the best schools for graduate level psychology for decades. The graduate Pprogram in psychology is very competitive and currently has around 65 students who are involved in one of five major research programs: cognition, brain & behavior; developmental; clinical science; social; and organizational behavior. The department also offers a rich academic and dynamic environment for those interested in postdoctoral research.
• Stanford University – Stanford’s psychology program consistently ranks number one in the nation with its 17 research labs for psychological study and its award-winning professors. While Stanford does not offer a master’s degree program, their graduate program offers a Ph.D. in psychology in these five areas of study: cognitive, developmental, neuroscience, affective science, and social psychology. The department currently accepts only about 10-15 new graduate students each year. 
• University of California – Berkeley – The University of California in Berkeley is consistently ranked as one the top ten psychology schools in the United States, and is the best public graduate psychology school. UC Berkeley’s psychology department does not offer a stand-alone master’s degree program, but it does offer a Ph.D. in psychology in the areas of behavioral neuroscience, personality, cognitive behavior, and clinical science. The goal of the program is to produce scholar-researchers with sufficient breadth to have perspective on the entire field of psychology and sufficient depth to permit significant independent research. There are currently 120 active graduate students in the program.  
• University of California – Los Angeles – The University of California in Los Angeles has a top notch psychology department which specializes in the psychology, cognitive sciences, and psychobiology fields. The UCLA psychology department offers a five-year full-time graduate Ph.D. training with emphases in behavioral neuroscience, clinical, cognitive, development, health psychology, learning and behavior, quantitative, and social psychology. Rigorous scientific training is designed to prepare students to become effective researchers, instructors, and professional psychologists.
• University of California – San Diego – The University of California in San Diego is known for having an excellent psychology curriculum and is one of the best when it comes to experimental psychology programs. Its faculty contains some many of the world’s leading experts in areas such as cognition, language, memory, and social relationships, amongst others. The only graduate degree offered by the psychology department is a Ph.D. in experimental psychology, which is focused around the following six areas: behavior analysis, neuroscience and behavior, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, sensation and perception, and social psychology.
• University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign – Since it was founded, the psychology department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has built a strong reputation of excellence in the field of psychology. It is consistently named as one of the top five graduate programs in the country and is dedicated to nurturing an environment for research in a variety of divisions: biological, brain and cognition, clinical/community, cognitive, developmental, quantitative, social-personality, industrial-organizational, visual cognition and human performance.
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor – With a great amount of psychological research and with excellent professors, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor has a quality psychology program that is consistently considered one of the top in the nation. The psychology department offers a Ph.D. program that is organized into six areas: biopsychology, clinical, cognition and cognitive neuroscience, developmental, personality and social contexts, and social. In addition, there are three joint programs of study: social work and psychology, education and psychology, women’s studies and psychology.
• University of Minnesota – Twin Cities – The University of Minnesota’s psychology department stands out in that it has a very wide range of classes in applied fields. UM is a very large school, and its Department of Psychology has a prestigious history, ranking among the top ten graduate psychology programs for decades. The full-time study program trains students for a Ph.D. with specialties offered in the following areas: biological psychopathology; clinical science and psychopathology research; cognitive and biological psychology; counseling psychology; industrial/organizational psychology; personality, individual differences, and behavior genetics; quantitative/psychometric methods; school psychology; and social psychology.
• University of Pennsylvania – The University of Pennsylvania has the oldest psychology department in North America, and over time has produced some of the top psychological scientists in the world. It is consistently ranked amount the top psychology departments with a graduate program that emphasizes scholarship and research accomplishment. Students are not admitted by specific subfields but into the program as a whole, allowing them to define their fields of interest as they engage with faculty in research projects.
• Yale University – Yale University has an excellent graduate psychology program that is at the top of the nation along with Stanford and Harvard. Their Ph.D. programs allow students to engage in one of five areas of study: behavioral neuroscience, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and social/personality psychology. Along with the guidance of esteemed faculty, all students have access to top research centers and psychology organizations to facilitate their academic experience.

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