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2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k

295 Ranked Colleges
6,569 Degrees Awarded
$44,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Psychology is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 7th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 183,889 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, psychology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,496 and had an average of $36,227 in loans still to pay off.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 6,569 psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,680 and $116,043 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 295 colleges that offered a degree in psychology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great psychology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the psychology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The psychology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree psychology students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 25 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Psychology (Income $30-$48k)

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 12 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also took the #1 spot in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Psychology at Stanford

#2

Duke University

Durham, North Carolina
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 295 schools in the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the #2 spot on the list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Durham, North Carolina. It awarded 11 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

Duke also took the #5 spot in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Duke University are $59,140.

Full Duke Psychology Report

#3

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree psychology students whose families make $30-$48k list, Harvard has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Harvard are $50,654.

Read full report on Psychology at Harvard

#4

Yale University

New Haven, Connecticut
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Yale University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k. New Haven, Connecticut is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

Yale not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Yale are $44,500, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Psychology at Yale

#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 20 doctorate’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree psychology students whose families make $30-$48k list, Northwestern has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Psychology at Northwestern University

#6

Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri
#4 in overall quality

Washington University in St Louis came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Washington University in St Louis is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 14 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WUSTL, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Washington University in St Louis are $56,562.

Full WUSTL Psychology Report

#7

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#7 in overall quality

University of Pennsylvania came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UPenn is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UPenn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Pennsylvania are $41,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Psychology at University of Pennsylvania

#8

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York
#6 in overall quality

Cornell University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. Cornell is a private not-for-profit institution located in Ithaca, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cornell not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Cornell are $30,042.

Read more about Psychology at Cornell University

#9

Rice University

Houston, Texas
Top 15% in overall quality

Rice University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Rice University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Houston, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Rice excels when it comes to psychology quality. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Rice are $47,913.

Read more about Psychology at Rice University

#10

Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island
#23 in overall quality

Brown University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Brown University is located in Providence, Rhode Island and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

Brown also took the #23 spot in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Brown University are $60,363, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Psychology at Brown

#11

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey
#18 in overall quality

Princeton University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Princeton, New Jersey. It awarded 8 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

Princeton also took the #18 spot in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Princeton are $56,470, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Princeton University Psychology Report

#12

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#14 in overall quality

University of Chicago came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 doctorate’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

UChicago also made our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #14. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Chicago Psychology Report

#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 36 students in 2019-2020.

Columbia also took the #10 spot in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia University in the City of New York are $51,194.

Read full report on Psychology at Columbia University in the City of New York

#14

University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida
Top 15% in overall quality

University of Florida ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. UF is a large school located in Gainesville, Florida that handed out 37 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

UF excels when it comes to psychology quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UF are $30,130, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UF Psychology Report

#15

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland
#21 in overall quality

Johns Hopkins University landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Johns Hopkins University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Baltimore, Maryland. It awarded 4 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

Johns Hopkins did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Johns Hopkins are $59,425.

Read more about Psychology at Johns Hopkins University

#16

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan
#15 in overall quality

With a ranking of #16, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 30 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at U-M are $49,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Psychology Report

#17

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Indiana
#12 in overall quality

University of Notre Dame did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #17. Notre Dame, Indiana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Notre Dame, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Notre Dame are $57,522, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Psychology at Notre Dame

Top 20% in overall quality

University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. UW - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin. It awarded 28 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

On top of its placing in this ranking, UW - Madison also did well on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UW - Madison are $25,523, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Psychology at University of Wisconsin - Madison

#19

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Top 15% in overall quality

With a ranking of #19, Boston College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. Boston College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Boston College also claimed a top spot on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Boston College are $31,930.

Read full report on Psychology at Boston College

#20

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California
#20 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 10 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s psychology students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347.

Read more about Psychology at UC Berkeley

#21

Georgetown University

Washington, District of Columbia
#21 in overall quality

Georgetown University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k list. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree psychology students whose families make $30-$48k list, Georgetown has also earned the #21 rank in our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Georgetown are $53,591.

Full Georgetown University Psychology Report

Top 20% in overall quality

University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UW Seattle is located in Seattle, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 doctorate’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

UW Seattle excels when it comes to psychology quality. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Washington - Seattle Campus are $30,294, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UW Seattle Psychology Report

#23

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia
#19 in overall quality

University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. University of Virginia - Main Campus is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 doctorate’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

University of Virginia also made our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #19. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Virginia - Main Campus are $32,394.

Read more about Psychology at University of Virginia - Main Campus

University of South Florida - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #24. University of South Florida - Main Campus is located in Tampa, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 doctorate’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

Average graduate tuition and fees at USF Tampa are $21,126, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Psychology at University of South Florida - Main Campus

#25

Northeastern University

Boston, Massachusetts
Top 20% in overall quality

Northeastern University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 20 students in 2019-2020.

Northeastern excels when it comes to psychology quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our “Best Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northeastern University are $25,558, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Psychology at Northeastern University

Rest of the Best 45 in Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $30-$48k

Not only did these schools make the top 45 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

#26

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina
#27

Tufts University

Medford, Massachusetts
#28

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana
#29

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana
#31

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#33

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina
#34

University of Central Florida

Orlando, Florida
#35

Florida State University

Tallahassee, Florida
#36

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
#37

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota
#39

Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia
#41

University of Georgia

Athens, Georgia
#42

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#43

University of North Texas

Denton, Texas
#44

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
#45

University of Missouri - St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri

Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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