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Psychology

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

Psychology majors study how people think, feel, and behave. Core coursework includes intro psychology, statistics, research methods, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, and developmental and abnormal psychology. Cognitive science adds computer science, linguistics, philosophy, and neuroscience for an interdisciplinary look at the mind.

Most programs include lab work and research opportunities, and many require a senior thesis based on your own data.

What you'll do after college

With a bachelor's, grads work in research labs, schools, healthcare settings, HR departments, marketing, and social services. To work as a clinical psychologist, you need a doctorate (PhD or PsyD), which adds five to seven years of training.

Many psych grads pursue master's degrees in counseling, social work, or industrial-organizational psychology, while others go to medical school, law school, or business. The major is broadly useful because nearly every job involves understanding people.

Famous graduates

  • Jamie Dimon — Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase; B.A. in Psychology and Economics from Tufts University
  • Guy Kawasaki — Silicon Valley venture capitalist, marketing executive, and author; B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University
  • Adam Grant — Organizational psychologist and bestselling author; B.A. in Psychology from Harvard University
  • Carol Dweck — Pioneering researcher on "growth mindset" and Stanford professor; B.A. in Psychology from Barnard College

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$54,061
5,364
100–85%
$50,241
10,992
85–75%
$53,090
15,834
75–72%
$51,621
21,362
72–55%
$51,558
21,693
55–52%
$56,255
15,708
52–35%
$56,187
11,047
35–21%
$69,547
5,523
21–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings

By SAT median

$47,277
3,881
400–1000
$48,361
7,742
1000–1070
$50,459
11,572
1070–1120
$51,861
15,375
1120–1190
$54,553
15,631
1190–1270
$56,877
11,650
1270–1340
$63,376
7,722
1340–1445
$68,186
3,804
1445–1600
Median SAT · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl 5yr Earn
Psychology 1,274 126,786 20% / 80% 3% $52,147
Psychology 1,227 112,133 20% / 80% 3% $51,117
Cognitive Science 59 2,675 34% / 66% 10% $76,027
Research and Experimental Psychology 17 1,985 21% / 79% 2% $57,083
Behavioral Sciences 39 1,276 18% / 82% 2% $50,733
Psychological Science 8 1,235 23% / 77% 3% $52,176
Behavioral Neuroscience 21 1,114 23% / 77% 2% $60,221
Applied Psychology 39 916 19% / 81% 3% $58,832
Forensic Psychology 22 862 17% / 83% 2% $61,048
Psychological Sciences 4 845 24% / 76% 6% $62,173
Experimental Psychology 13 463 19% / 81% 11% $52,701
Developmental and Child Psychology 17 407 9% / 91% 2% $49,157
Human Developmental Sciences 1 351 24% / 76% 9% $50,364
Psychological and Brain Sciences 2 284 25% / 75% 2% $58,691
Clinical Psychology 9 270 22% / 78% 6% $58,384
Counseling Psychology 21 198 15% / 85% 1% $47,272
Industrial and Organizational Psychology 19 170 25% / 75% 1% $64,460
Social Psychology 10 161 18% / 82% 6% $50,374
Applied Behavior Analysis 8 133 11% / 89% 1% $67,499
Educational Psychology 5 128 5% / 95% 1% $55,791
Community Psychology 8 116 18% / 82% 0% $52,310
Health/Medical Psychology 4 105 17% / 83% 1% $54,320
Behavioral Science 3 84 25% / 75% 0% $53,366
Mental Health 1 80 18% / 82% 0% $69,136
Human Development 2 74 20% / 80% 3%
Cognitive Sciences 2 63 29% / 71% 6% $74,037
Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics 2 58 17% / 83% 5% $62,144
Cognitive Studies 1 54 31% / 69% 13%
Cognitive Psychology 3 45 18% / 82% 0% $55,433
Contemplative Studies 5 42 48% / 52% 33% $84,091
Applied Psychological Science 1 38 24% / 76% 0% $74,700
Cognitive Neuroscience 1 32 28% / 72% 3%
Counseling 1 31 10% / 90% 0% $43,373
Behavioral Decision Sciences 1 30 43% / 57% 20%
Integrative Neuroscience 1 29 28% / 72% 0% $61,111
Neuroscience and Behavior 1 29 21% / 79% 10%
Rehabilitation Psychology 1 28 11% / 89% 0% $76,297
Health Psychology 6 26 0% / 100% 12% $54,109
Child Development 1 26 35% / 65% 0% $48,474
Child Studies 1 26 12% / 88% 8%
Child Psychology 3 20 0% / 100% 0%
Mental Health Services 2 20 15% / 85% 5% $50,774
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology 2 19 32% / 68% 0% $68,826
Cognitive Science and Psychology 1 17 0% / 100% 0%
Autism Studies 1 15 0% / 100% 0%
Performance and Sport Psychology 2 9 78% / 22% 0%
Personality Psychology 2 9 22% / 78% 0%
Mental Health Counseling/Counselor 1 9 0% / 100% 0% $62,784
Psychology Studies 2 6 0% / 100% 0%
Educational Neuroscience 1 6 0% / 100% 0%
Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology 1 6 67% / 33% 0%
Psychology and Biological Sciences 1 6 17% / 83% 0%
Sport Psychology 2 5 60% / 40% 0% $61,819
Transpersonal/Spiritual Psychology 1 4 0% / 100% 0%
Child and Adolescent Development 1 3 0% / 100% 0%
Child and Developmental Psychology 1 3 0% / 100% 0%
Sport and Performance Psychology 1 3 67% / 33% 33% $50,030
Industrial/Organizational Psychology 1 2 100% / 0% 0%
Environmental Psychology 1 1 0% / 100% 0%
School Psychology 1 1 100% / 0% 0%