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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.

$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.

Top 15 psychology programs by median completer earnings

Psychology, General bachelor's · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

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.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 100

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
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.