Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

Ranking of U.S. Psychology Ph.D. Programs by Area

    This page contains links to U.S. psychology Ph.D. programs grouped by research area and ranked in quality according to the Princeton Review's "Gourman Report of Graduate Programs" (8th edition). Beyond Social Psychology, the Gourman Report covers:

The Canadian Psychological Association Graduate Guide is a good source of information on graduate study in Canada, and John Krantz also maintains an extensive international list of Psychology Departments.

Note to Students: The rankings below should be considered no more than a rough approximation. Many excellent programs did not make it into Gourman's report, and of those that did, the difference between closely ranked programs was often too small to be meaningful. For a critical perspective on the Gourman rankings, see Caveat Emptor: The Gourman Report.

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!


Clinical Psychology Rankings
Rank School Department Score
1 Yale University Psychology 4.67
2 University of Pennsylvania Psychology 4.65
3 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Psychology 4.61
4 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities Psychology 4.58
5 University of California--Berkeley Psychology 4.57
6 University of California--Los Angeles Psychology 4.53
7 Indiana University Bloomington Psychology 4.50
8 University of Oregon Psychology 4.49
9 University of Colorado--Boulder Psychology 4.48
10 University of Washington Psychology 4.45
11 University of Texas--Austin Psychology 4.43
12 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill Psychology 4.41
13 Northwestern University Psychology 4.40
14 New York University Psychology 4.38
15 Pennsylvania State University--University Park Psychology 4.37
16 Duke University Psy/Neuroscience 4.36
17 Rutgers University Psychology 4.26
18 University of Iowa Psychology 4.25
19 Ohio State University--Columbus Psychology 4.22
20 Washington University in St. Louis Psychology 4.20
21 Purdue University--West Lafayette Psychology 4.18
22 Stony Brook University Psychology 4.15
23 University of Southern California Psychology 4.11
24 Vanderbilt University Psychology 4.05


Cognitive Psychology Rankings
Rank School Department Score
1 Stanford University Psychology 4.58
2 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Psychology 4.56
3 Yale University Psychology 4.54
4 University of California--Los Angeles Psychology 4.53
5 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities Psychology 4.52
6 University of Pennsylvania Psychology 4.50
7 University of California--Berkeley Psychology 4.49
8 Carnegie Mellon University Psychology 4.46
9 Cornell University Psychology 4.43
10 University of Wisconsin--Madison Psychology 4.40
11 Columbia University Psychology 4.39
12 University of Texas--Austin Psychology 4.36
13 Indiana University Bloomington Psychology 4.35
14 University of Virginia Psychology 4.34
15 Ohio State University--Columbus Psychology 4.33
16 University of Oregon Psychology 4.32
17 University of Colorado--Boulder Psychology 4.31
18 Northwestern University Psychology 4.30
19 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill Psychology 4.28
20 University of Massachusetts Amherst Psychology 4.26
21 Duke University Psychology 4.25
22 Rutgers University Psy/Neuroscience 4.23
23 University of Rochester Brain and Cog Sci 4.20
24 Johns Hopkins University Psychology 4.18
25 Purdue University--West Lafayette Psychology 4.17
26 University of Iowa Psychology 4.15
27 University at Buffalo, SUNY Psychology 4.14
28 Vanderbilt University Psychology 4.12
29 Stony Brook University Psychology 4.10
30 University of Florida Psychology 4.08
31 University of Southern California Psychology 4.05


Developmental Psychology Rankings
Rank School Department Score
1 Stanford University Psychology 4.61
2 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Psychology 4.60
3 Yale University Psychology 4.57
4 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign Psychology 4.53
5 University of California--Los Angeles Psychology 4.52
6 University of Pennsylvania Psychology 4.48
7 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities Psychology 4.46
8 Carnegie Mellon University Psychology 4.43
9 University of California Berkeley Psychology 4.42
10 Cornell University Psychology 4.41
11 University of Texas--Austin Psychology 4.38
12 University of Washington Psychology 4.36
13 Indiana University Bloomington Psychology 4.35
14 University of Virginia Psychology 4.32
15 Ohio State University--Columbus Psychology 4.30
16 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill Psychology 4.26
17 University of Oregon Psychology 4.25
18 University of California--Irvine Psychology 4.23
19 Rutgers University Psychology 4.22
20 Purdue University--West Lafayette Psychology 4.21
21 Pennsylvania State University--University Park Psychology 4.19
22 University of Rochester Clinical and Soc Sci 4.16
23 Duke University Psy/Neuroscience 4.14
24 University of Iowa Psychology 4.13
25 University of Massachusetts Amherst Psychology 4.11
26 University of Southern California Psychology 4.09


Experimental Psychology Rankings
Rank School Department Score
1 Yale University Psychology 4.55
2 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities Psychology 4.53
3 University of Washington Psychology 4.51
4 Cornell University Psychology 4.49
5 Columbia University Psychology 4.48
6 University of Pennsylvania Psychology 4.46
7 Ohio State University--Columbus Psychology 4.43
8 University of Colorado--Boulder Psychology 4.42
9 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill Psychology 4.39
10 Pennsylvania State University--University Park Psychology 4.37
11 New York University Psychology 4.34
12 Duke University Psy/Neuroscience 4.33
13 Johns Hopkins University Psychology 4.29
14 Brown University Psychology 4.28
15 University of Iowa Psychology 4.25
16 Stony Brook University Psychology 4.20


Industrial/Organizational Psychology Rankings
Rank School Department Score
1 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Psychology 4.61
2 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities Psychology 4.60
3 Ohio State University--Columbus Psychology 4.58
4 Purdue University--West Lafayette Psychology 4.55
5 New York University Psychology 4.52
6 Pennsylvania State University--University Park Psychology 4.50
7 City University of New York Graduate Center Psychology 4.46
8 Michigan State University Psychology 4.43
9 North Carolina State University Psychology 4.41
10 University of Houston Psychology 4.38
11 University at Buffalo, SUNY Psychology 4.35
12 Georgia Institute of Technology Psychology 4.32
13 Illinois Institute of Technology Psychology 4.29
14 University of Cincinnati Psychology 4.26
15 George Washington University Psychology 4.21
16 Texas A&M University--College Station Psychology 4.19
17 Wayne State University Psychology 4.16


Personality Psychology Rankings
Rank School Department Score
1 Stanford University Psychology 4.49
2 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Psychology 4.46
3 Yale University Psychology 4.42
4 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities Psychology 4.39
5 University of California--Berkeley Psychology 4.38
6 University of Washington Psychology 4.37
7 Cornell University Psychology 4.33
8 University of Wisconsin--Madison Psychology 4.30
9 Columbia University Psychology 4.28
10 University of Texas--Austin Psychology 4.26
11 University of Oregon Psychology 4.25
12 Northwestern University Psychology 4.21
13 Duke University Psy/Neuroscience 4.19
14 Johns Hopkins University Psychology 4.18
15 New York University Psychology 4.17
16 Purdue University--West Lafayette Psychology 4.16
17 University of Massachusetts Amherst Psychology 4.15
18 Stony Brook University Psychology 4.14


Sensation and Perception Psychology Rankings
Rank School Department Score
1 Stanford University Psychology 4.53
2 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor Psychology 4.52
3 Duke University Psy/Neuroscience 4.48
4 University of Pennsylvania Psychology 4.46
5 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities Psychology 4.45
6 Ohio State University--Columbus Psychology 4.42
7 University of Wisconsin--Madison Psychology 4.39
8 University of Washington Psychology 4.38
9 University of Texas--Austin Psychology 4.37
10 Columbia University Psychology 4.36
11 Purdue University--West Lafayette Psychology 4.32
12 Johns Hopkins University Psychology 4.29
13 University of Virginia Psychology 4.27
14 University of Rochester Brain and Cog Sci 4.23
15 University at Buffalo, SUNY Psychology 4.22
16 University of Florida Psychology 4.21
17 Case Western Reserve University Psychology 4.20
18 University of Illinois--Chicago Psychology 4.16
19 University of California--Santa Barbara Psychology 4.14
20 Stony Brook University Psychology 4.13
21 University of California--Davis Psychology 4.12
22 Tulane University Psychology 4.11
23 Indiana University Bloomington Psychology 4.10
24 Loyola University of Chicago Psychology 4.06



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