Our Ranking Methodology

Psychology.org's mission is to provide learners with the knowledge and information they need to pursue a fulfilling career in psychology. We achieve this by providing reliable and up-to-date rankings of the best psychology schools and programs.

Psychology.org's school ranking methodology considers key factors that help students choose the best school for their needs. We compile data from national databases on postsecondary schools and meticulously review it for accuracy. To learn more about the factors and subfactors that make up our rankings, please refer to the section below.

While Psychology.org's rankings include a variety of schools, it is important to note that they are not exhaustive. Institutions that do not provide sufficient information are not included in our rankings. Therefore, students should view these ranked lists as a helpful resource for researching college programs.

About Our Data

Psychology.org collects data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This federal entity, part of the Institute of Education Sciences, gathers, analyzes, and publishes statistical data on education in the U.S. Data is retrieved from NCES and reviewed by quality assurance and editorial teams for accuracy.

The most recent NCES data was retrieved in December 2023 for our 2024 rankings. Psychology.org reserves the right to exclude schools lacking significant data from the rankings to ensure accurate calculations.

How We Calculate Our Rankings

Psychology.org focuses on four categories when ranking schools: accessibility, overall program costs, reputation, and quality of academics. These categories comprise a series of subfactors that make up our overall rankings.

*Used for undergraduate-level rankings only
**Used for graduate-level rankings only
***Used for online rankings only