Program ranking · CIP 42.01 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Psychology

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Psychology, General (CIP 42.01) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$99,007
Highest psych earnings: 100
Colleges ranked: $58,715
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $58,715 median earnings for Psychology bachelor's completers. Georgetown University leads at $99,007.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$99,007
#1 - Georgetown University: $58,715
#100 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 1,378
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Georgetown University

$99,007
Carnegie Mellon University

$82,433
George Washington Univer…

$79,187
Cornell University

$78,049
Santa Clara University

$75,742
Virginia Military Instit…

$75,059
Lehigh University

$74,939
University of San Diego

$74,178
College of the Holy Cross

$74,095
Villanova University

$73,684
Northwestern University

$73,646
Lafayette College

$73,435
Williams College

$72,891
Southern Methodist Unive…

$72,136
Vanderbilt University

$71,584

What this shows High psychology earnings often track selective research universities and metro labor markets - compare debt and completer counts before treating pay as program quality.

The full top 100

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	Georgetown University	DC	$99,007	$17,500	106
2	Carnegie Mellon University	PA	$82,433	-	33
3	George Washington University	DC	$79,187	-	43
4	Cornell University	NY	$78,049	$13,000	80
5	Santa Clara University	CA	$75,742	$17,000	122
6	Virginia Military Institute	VA	$75,059	$19,250	39
7	Lehigh University	PA	$74,939	$21,160	63
8	University of San Diego	CA	$74,178	$22,500	123
9	College of the Holy Cross	MA	$74,095	$26,990	132
10	Villanova University	PA	$73,684	$21,500	105
11	Northwestern University	IL	$73,646	$13,500	153
12	Lafayette College	PA	$73,435	$16,000	66
13	Williams College	MA	$72,891	$13,416	64
14	Southern Methodist University	TX	$72,136	$23,250	103
15	Vanderbilt University	TN	$71,584	$11,187	100
16	University of Southern California	CA	$70,461	$14,000	183
17	Fairfield University	CT	$70,211	$26,000	69
18	Saint Mary's College of California	CA	$70,123	$25,000	40
19	Boston College	MA	$70,033	$18,000	116
20	Elon University	NC	$69,856	$19,500	111
21	University of Notre Dame	IN	$69,793	$18,570	97
22	Trinity College	CT	$69,730	$21,907	47
23	Binghamton University	NY	$67,249	$18,500	310
24	National University	CA	$66,849	$28,062	162
25	Bucknell University	PA	$66,206	$27,000	93
26	Drew University	NJ	$65,997	$26,000	47
27	Syracuse University	NY	$65,694	$26,000	265
28	Texas Christian University	TX	$65,356	$21,375	96
29	Baylor University	TX	$65,090	$25,000	128
30	University of San Francisco	CA	$65,071	$23,250	150
31	Wake Forest University	NC	$64,814	$21,393	115
32	Manhattan University	NY	$64,684	$26,000	38
33	CUNY Graduate School and University Center	NY	$64,619	$11,500	77
34	University of Richmond	VA	$64,584	$25,000	52
35	Bradley University	IL	$64,378	$27,000	64
36	Azusa Pacific University	CA	$63,963	$21,500	150
37	Stonehill College	MA	$63,957	$25,000	61
38	Manhattanville University	NY	$63,908	$24,323	54
39	Boston University	MA	$63,838	$23,250	276
40	Providence College	RI	$63,746	$27,000	102
41	Chapman University	CA	$63,617	$20,500	138
42	Siena University	NY	$63,227	$27,000	70
43	Marist University	NY	$62,821	$23,250	96
44	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	$62,794	$19,268	251
45	St. John's University-New York	NY	$62,672	$26,679	152
46	Jacksonville University	FL	$62,622	$20,320	33
47	Merrimack College	MA	$62,567	$27,000	47
48	George Mason University	VA	$62,563	$17,625	405
49	Pacific University	OR	$62,484	$26,372	43
50	St Lawrence University	NY	$62,479	$25,000	67
51	The College of New Jersey	NJ	$62,397	$23,527	117
52	Fordham University	NY	$62,273	$25,000	164
53	American University	DC	$62,240	$23,500	64
54	Brigham Young University	UT	$62,106	$11,000	193
55	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	$62,032	$20,063	305
56	University of Puget Sound	WA	$61,919	$27,000	41
57	Assumption University	MA	$61,578	$27,000	35
58	Gonzaga University	WA	$61,533	$27,000	108
59	Quinnipiac University	CT	$61,510	$26,000	64
60	Adelphi University	NY	$61,393	$22,875	94
61	Pepperdine University	CA	$61,353	$22,580	77
62	Dominican University of California	CA	$61,339	$27,000	25
63	St. Mary's College of Maryland	MD	$61,214	$20,065	71
64	Widener University	PA	$61,205	$27,000	48
65	Clark University	MA	$61,203	$26,000	87
66	Salve Regina University	RI	$61,121	$27,000	42
67	California Baptist University	CA	$61,103	$26,000	169
68	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$61,050	$14,388	648
69	Loyola Marymount University	CA	$60,958	$19,500	158
70	Muhlenberg College	PA	$60,778	$25,844	53
71	University of Tulsa	OK	$60,700	$21,500	41
72	Iona University	NY	$60,525	$24,905	78
73	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$60,466	$18,916	156
74	Hofstra University	NY	$60,448	$25,669	70
75	St. Thomas Aquinas College	NY	$60,409	$23,000	33
76	Marquette University	WI	$60,338	$24,187	130
77	University of Mary	ND	$60,331	$24,750	51
78	Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	$60,260	$20,250	251
79	DeSales University	PA	$60,001	$26,000	33
80	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	$59,948	$18,902	431
81	Loyola University Maryland	MD	$59,905	$27,000	86
82	College of Staten Island CUNY	NY	$59,741	$13,000	357
83	St. Joseph's University-New York	NY	$59,679	$19,750	76
84	Emory University	GA	$59,628	$19,702	153
85	Hanover College	IN	$59,512	$27,000	31
86	University of Mount Saint Vincent	NY	$59,487	$26,000	299
87	University of Georgia	GA	$59,446	$18,845	581
88	University of St Thomas	MN	$59,398	$27,000	80
89	Hobart William Smith Colleges	NY	$59,317	$27,000	42
90	William & Mary	VA	$59,226	$17,924	158
91	Rockhurst University	MO	$59,160	$24,189	33
92	California Lutheran University	CA	$59,153	$23,000	116
93	CUNY Hunter College	NY	$59,149	$11,386	673
94	Howard University	DC	$59,069	$24,437	86
95	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$58,901	$20,500	495
96	Saint Louis University	MO	$58,862	$25,467	58
97	University of Massachusetts Global	CA	$58,836	$23,922	197
98	Seattle Pacific University	WA	$58,749	$25,687	72
99	Hawaii Pacific University	HI	$58,721	$21,500	36
100	The University of the South	TN	$58,715	$17,148	44

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Psychology, General (CIP 42.01) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Psychology, General (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for this CIP and credential - not teaching quality, clinical training depth, licensure pass rates, or fit for any one student. Related CIP families (clinical/counseling, research psychology) are ranked separately on their own program pages.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.