Bachelor's level psychology degrees are best for students interested in learning about psychology and interested in entering a career working with people. This is good preparation for careers in the human services or for graduate study in psychology. The best bachelor's degree programs will depend upon the individual's interest. Some programs focus more on research and experimental psychology whereas others focus on theory and counseling. Most undergraduate programs offer courses on abnormal psychology, social psychology, learning, cognitive and behavioral psychology, statistics, experimental psychology and tests and measurements.
Students interested in becoming professional psychologists and/or researchers need a graduate degree. The best degree will depend upon an individual's career goals and interests. Master's degrees in psychology are usually two years in length and require rigorous study whereas doctorate level degrees--including Ph.D.s and Psy.D.s---can take five to seven years of study and require research. Individuals interested in becoming clinical psychologists will find that the best programs concentrate on counseling techniques and abnormal psychology and offer internships that provide hands-on experience in counseling and assessment. Students interested in research will likely want to pursue a Ph.D. from a school with a strong experimental psychology program.
According to the Social Psychology Network and the Gourman Report, the top five programs for a psychology undergraduate degree in the U.S. include Stanford University, Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan--Ann Arbour and the University of Minnesota--Twin Cities. These schools are ranked by quality, using many criteria including the salaries of the faculty and the mission of the department. For a prospective student, this may be a good starting point for determining what is the best program. However, ranking systems will not help a student to determine all aspects of the school, particularly how it may match an individual's interests. Investigating specific programs is important for individuals to determine the best fit.
According to "U.S. News & World Report," the best graduate-level psychology programs include Stanford University, the University of California--Berkeley, Harvard University, the University of California--Los Angeles and the University of Michigan. These rankings are meant to provide an idea of the overall quality of education for advanced study of psychology at these institutions. They specifically look at indicators such as retention and graduation rates and the quality of faculty. Qualities such as range of academics offered, financial aid, cost and size are not considered. Individuals should investigate institutions to determine the best fit for them.