This page contains a list of U.S. and Canadian clinical psychology programs rank-ordered by how well their graduates performed on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology from 1988 to 1995 (as given in the report "How Do Professional Schools' Graduates Compare With Traditional Graduates?" in the September, 1997, APS Observer). According to the APS Observer, the EPPP is one of the most important national standard tests in clinical psychology and therefore constitutes one objective criterion "by which the adequacy of clinical training programs may be evaluated." To learn more about the EPPP, contact the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.
Of course, EPPP scores are only one measure of clinical training, and the use of average EPPP scores as an index of graduate program quality does not take into account pre-existing differences in student training and test-taking ability. Nonetheless, EPPP scores provide one useful way to objectively assess clinical training. According to the report cited above, high EPPP scores are associated with larger faculty-to-student ratios, smaller-sized clinical programs, and traditional Ph.D. programs rather than Psy.D. or Ed.D. programs.
If you know of other recent rankings of psychology graduate programs and would like to see them posted, please click here.
Note to Students: The rankings below should be considered no more than a rough approximation. You would be well advised to consult as many faculty members as possible for feedback on your top school choices before applying to graduate school. Admission to graduate school is competitive, so apply to as many schools as possible; have your friends, family, and academic advisors look over your application materials; and if you receive letters of rejection, don't lose your sense of humor!
Thanks go to Don Templer and Marie Tomeo of the California School of Professional Psychology for checking the accuracy of this page and making corrections to the original list published in the APS Observer. The APS Observer data were compiled as part of the following study: Yu, L. M., Rinaldi, S., A., Templer, D. I., Colbert, L. A., Siscoe, K., & Van Patten, K.(1997).Score on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology as a function of attributes of clinical psychology graduate programs. Psychological Science, 8, 347-350.
*Note: Central Michigan University now offers a Ph.D. rather than a Psy.D. degree.