College rankings can be a useful tool for college-bound students allowing them to narrow their potential college choices. A variety of areas can be ranked, including the college's programs and majors, town life, social scene, demographics and faculty. The Gourman Report, however, is the only qualitative guide to institutions of higher education that assigns a precise, numerical score to each school and undergraduate program. Dr. Gourman, the man behind the rankings, which have not been updated since 1997, never releases the methodology behind his choices, even though each rank is also given a score (out of a possible five). The report does provide a well balanced list of large public colleges and the Ivy Leagues. Psychology programs are one of many the reputable review covers.
The number one spot for undergraduate psychology program goes to Standford University, with a rating of 4.66. For decades, Standford has held onto the number one spot largely due to cutting edge research tools and methods, along with a prestigious faculty.
Shortly behind Standford is Yale with the number two ranking and a score of 4.65. Yale offers many different research areas available to psychology majors, such as behavioral neuroscience, clinical, cognitive, developmental and social/personality studies.
The University of Pennsylvania received the number three spot with a ranking of 4.64. The psychology program is the oldest continuously functioning program in North America.
The University of Michigan at Ann-Arbor comes in fourth place, with a 4.63 score. Theresa Lee, the department chair, believes their top ranking is because of their "pioneering contributions in classroom and research education, as well as innovative experiential learning."
The number five school is the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a rating of 4.62. Number six is the University of California, Berkeley with a score of 4.61. Number seven is Harvard College with a 4.59 rating. Number eight on the list is the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with a 4.57 score. The University of Chicago is number nine with a rating of 4.56. Columbia University rounds out the list at number 10 with a score of 4.55.