2025 Best General Psychology Master's Degree Schools

General Psychology is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #34 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 154 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of general psychology. Combined, these schools handed out 6,370 master's degrees in general psychology to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great General Psychology School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of general psychology for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on general psychology students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of general psychology students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt general psychology students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized general psychology related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general psychology students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank General Psychology Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best General Psychology Master's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study General Psychology in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for general psychology students seeking a a master's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in Psychology

1

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

41 Annual Graduates

$74,551 Median Starting Salary

University of Pennsylvania is a great option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in general psychology. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

General Psychology master's degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania earn a boost of approximately $23,565 over the average earnings of general psychology majors.

More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of Pennsylvania

2

University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

36 Annual Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in general psychology. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of California - Los Angeles

3

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

15 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in general psychology has to take a look at University of Southern California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of Southern California

4

George Mason University
Fairfax, VA

59 Annual Graduates

$80,665 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat George Mason University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in general psychology. GMU is a very large public university located in the suburb of Fairfax.

Those general psychology students who get their master's degree from George Mason University receive $29,679 more than the standard psychology student.

More information about a master’s in general psychology from George Mason University

5

University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA

21 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of Virginia - Main Campus

6

Emory University
Atlanta, GA

13 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from Emory University

7

Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

11 Annual Graduates

Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville.More information about a master’s in general psychology from Vanderbilt University

8

University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

22 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of Florida

9

Fordham University
Bronx, NY

14 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from Fordham University

10

Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI

12 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from Marquette University

11

Boston University
Boston, MA

58 Annual Graduates

$50,606 Median Starting Salary

Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston.

Students who graduate with their master's from the psychology program state that they receive average early career earnings of $50,606.

More information about a master’s in general psychology from Boston University

12

Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

13 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from Michigan State University

13

University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD

9 Annual Graduates

UMCP is a very large public university located in the suburb of College Park.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of Maryland - College Park

14

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN

8 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

15

Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

34 Annual Graduates

$59,508 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the general psychology program at Florida State University make $8,522 more than the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in general psychology from Florida State University

16

James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

13 Annual Graduates

JMU is a very large public university located in the city of Harrisonburg.More information about a master’s in general psychology from James Madison University

17

University of California - Davis
Davis, CA

12 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of California - Davis

18

Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

5 Annual Graduates

Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Syracuse.More information about a master’s in general psychology from Syracuse University

19

Miami University - Oxford
Oxford, OH

8 Annual Graduates

Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Oxford.More information about a master’s in general psychology from Miami University - Oxford

20

Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA

220 Annual Graduates

$47,132 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the psychology program state that they receive average early career income of $47,132.

More information about a master’s in general psychology from Pepperdine University

21

Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

6 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from Virginia Tech

22

California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA

37 Annual Graduates

CSULB is a very large public university located in the large city of Long Beach.More information about a master’s in general psychology from California State University - Long Beach

23

University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

8 Annual Graduates

UIC is a very large public university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of Illinois at Chicago

24

University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO

15 Annual Graduates

CU - Boulder is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Boulder.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University of Colorado Boulder

25

University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY

15 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Buffalo, University at Buffalo is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in general psychology from University at Buffalo

Rest of the Top Best General Psychology Master's Degree Schools

26

San Diego State University
San Diego, CA

27

Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH

28

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Cincinnati, OH

29

Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH

30

Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, PA

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for General Psychology students that almost earned our Best General Psychology Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank	College	Location
31	Florida International University	Miami, FL
32	Rutgers University - New Brunswick	New Brunswick, NJ
33	Texas Tech University	Lubbock, TX
34	Colorado State University - Fort Collins	Fort Collins, CO
35	Towson University	Towson, MD
36	Villanova University	Villanova, PA
37	Catholic University of America	Washington, DC
38	California State University - Fullerton	Fullerton, CA
39	Stony Brook University	Stony Brook, NY
40	Virginia Commonwealth University	Richmond, VA
41	Azusa Pacific University	Azusa, CA
42	University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus	Pittsburgh, PA
43	American University	Washington, DC
44	Bowling Green State University - Main Campus	Bowling Green, OH
45	The University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, AL
46	University of South Dakota	Vermillion, SD
47	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, NC
48	Appalachian State University	Boone, NC
49	Adelphi University	Garden City, NY
50	California State University - Fresno	Fresno, CA
51	The City College of New York	New York, NY

General Psychology by Region

View the Best General Psychology Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Rankings in Majors Related to Psychology

General Psychology is one of 24 different types of Psychology programs to choose from.

Psychology Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
General Psychology	6,370

Majors Similar to Psychology

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology	24,000
Child Development & Psychology	1,935
Other Psychology	1,833

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to BruceBlaus. More about our data sources and methodologies.