The Best Universities for Degrees in Psychology

Stanford University

• Stanford University's Department of Psychology is considered to be the best psychology department in the nation. Ranked first in 2009 by U.S. News & World Report, the strength of the Stanford department lies with the overall strength of the university as whole--interdisciplinary research. Stanford's leadership in academia is directly related to the ongoing collaborative efforts of Stanford's various departments. The university offers a Ph.D. as part of its graduate program. It does not, however, offer the master's degree as part of a stand-alone degree track. Areas of expertise covered by the Stanford program are personality studies, cognitive studies, developmental psychology, neuroscience and social psychology.

  Stanford University
  450 Serra Mall
  Stanford, CA 94305
  650-725-2400
  stanford.edu

University of California at Berkeley

• The University of California at Berkeley (UCB) is the No. 2 psychology program in the nation. UCB is likewise recognized for its interdisciplinary approach to education, which is further embodied in the psychology department. Like Stanford, UCB's program offers a Ph.D. in the field along with the master's degree as part of the program. Areas of specialization within the Ph.D. program are social and developmental studies, behavior and brain cognition, studies in change and plasticity, behavioral neuroscience, personality studies and clinical science. UCB is home to several prominent research laboratories such as the Biological Rhythms Laboratory and the Knight Cognitive Neuroscience Lab.

  University of California--Berkeley
  2232 Piedmont Ave.
  Berkeley, CA 94720
  510-642-1382
  berkeley.edu

Harvard University

• Harvard University's Department of Psychology is also a top-rated program, at No. 3 on the U.S. News & World Report's 2009 rankings list. Harvard too is multidisciplinary in its approach to psychology, as it is with many of its other social science programs. Like Stanford and UCB, Harvard offers the Ph.D. as its primary graduate degree. The program emphasizes developmental psychology, behavioral and cognitive science, clinical science and social and organizational behavior. The program is highly selective and is known for its prominent names in the field such as the famous behaviorist B.F. Skinner.

  Harvard University
  33 Kirkland St.
  Cambridge, MA 02138
  617-495-3810
  harvard.edu