Stanford University is a private, nonsectarian institution located just outside Palo Alto, California, approximately 30 miles from San Francisco. The university's graduate degree programs in psychology received the first-place ranking in 2009 (the last year the schools were ranked) from "U.S. News and World Report."
The graduate programs at Stanford include both a standard master's and Ph.D.s as well as a co-terminal Ph.D. program. With the latter course of study, students without a master's degree can be accepted into a Ph.D. program and earn their master's while simultaneously completing requirements for the doctorate. Areas of specialization at Stanford include cognitive psychology, developmental neuroscience, affective science and social psychology.
An undergraduate degree in psychology is not required for admissions consideration, but students must have previous course work experience in the field. The university admits roughly 10 to 14 new graduate students each year with roughly two to four chosen for each area of specialization. Most students in the psychology Ph.D. programs at Stanford University receive a full tuition scholarship, a living stipend and health insurance for their first five years in the program.
The University of Michigan Ann Arbor is a public institution with more than 41,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The university's psychology programs tied for third place among all similar programs in the country in the "U.S. News and World Report" 2009 rankings.
The university only offers Ph.D. degrees in psychology, but allows students to enroll with either an undergraduate or master's degree. Areas of specialization include biopsychology, clinical psychology, cognition and cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, social psychology, and personality and social contexts. The department also offers three interdisciplinary, joint degree programs, which combine a Ph.D. in psychology with a graduate-level degree in social work, education or women's studies.
The University of Michigan Ann Arbor admits only 5 percent of those who apply to its graduate programs each year, according to its website. The average undergradaute grade point average of those who receive admission is 3.82 on a scale of 4.0. Most students receive full funding in the form of a full-tuition scholarship, a stipend and insurance for their first five years at the university.
Home to more than 55,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Ohio State University is a public institution based in Columbus, Ohio. The university tied for 17th place among all U.S. graduate programs in psychology in the "U.S. News and World Report" 2009 rankings.
The Department of Psychology grants only Ph.D. degrees at the graduate level, accepting students with both undergraduate or master's degrees. Among the Ph.D. areas of specialization are behavioral neuroscience, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, and quantitative psychology. A specialization in social psychology is also available, and this program ranked second in the U.S. among similar courses of study in the "U.S. News and World Report" ratings.
During the admissions selection process, the university tends to look for students with a grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale. An undergraduate degree in psychology is not necessary, but a minimum of 14 semester or 20 quarter credit hours of previous course work in psychology is necessary. The university offers assistantships and fellowships to help students offset the cost of tuition, but does not guarantee full funding for students.