Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology Degrees

Badge for BEST FOR PSYCHOLOGY LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

Updated: Jan 8, 2024

The best psychology liberal arts colleges are those with rich histories of influence, proven through the work produced by the program’s faculty and alumni. Beyond demonstrating scholarly impact in the field, the best psychology degree programs maximize your opportunities to interact with outstanding psychology faculty.

Top 10 Undergraduate Psychology Programs at Liberal Arts Colleges

Swarthmore College
Wesleyan University
Amherst College
Pomona College
Wellesley College
Claremont McKenna College
Bowdoin College
Williams College
Barnard College
Vassar College

Wesleyan University
Amherst College
United States Military Academy
Oberlin College
Williams College
Swarthmore College
Smith College
Wellesley College
Bryn Mawr College
Vassar College

San Francisco State University 94%
Oberlin College 35%
Kenyon College 34%
Reed College 31%
Bryn Mawr College 31%
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 30%
Smith College 23%
Vassar College 19%
Pitzer College 18%
Carleton College 17%

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 20 to 1
San Francisco State University 19 to 1
Pitzer College 10 to 1
Barnard College 10 to 1
Bowdoin College 9 to 1
Colgate University 9 to 1
Middlebury College 9 to 1
Davidson College 9 to 1
Kenyon College 9 to 1
Oberlin College 9 to 1

Kenyon College $66,490
Vassar College $64,800
Reed College $64,760
Wesleyan University $64,322
Colgate University $64,290
Amherst College $64,100
Haverford College $63,628
Carleton College $62,634
Barnard College $62,525
Middlebury College $62,460

Claremont McKenna College $65,574
Colgate University $63,904
Vassar College $63,840
Wesleyan University $63,722
Williams College $61,775
Smith College $58,480
Bryn Mawr College $50,730
Oberlin College $29,692
Middlebury College $14,550
San Francisco State University $7,176

San Francisco State University
Haverford College
Bryn Mawr College
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Pitzer College
United States Air Force Academy
Kenyon College
Smith College
Colgate University
Davidson College

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Pitzer College
Claremont McKenna College
Davidson College
Kenyon College
United States Air Force Academy
Carleton College
Middlebury College
Colgate University
Pomona College

Pomona College 7%
Swarthmore College 7%
Amherst College 7%
Williams College 8%
Bowdoin College 9%
Barnard College 9%
Claremont McKenna College 10%
United States Military Academy 12%
Colgate University 12%
Middlebury College 13%

Williams College 6 to 1
Vassar College 7 to 1
Wellesley College 7 to 1
United States Air Force Academy 7 to 1
Amherst College 7 to 1
United States Military Academy 7 to 1
Wesleyan University 7 to 1
Pomona College 7 to 1
Smith College 8 to 1
Claremont McKenna College 8 to 1

San Francisco State University $5,742
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo $5,742
Davidson College $57,340
Smith College $58,768
Pomona College $59,238
Swarthmore College $59,328
Bryn Mawr College $59,330
Pitzer College $60,578
Claremont McKenna College $60,715
Bowdoin College $61,528

San Francisco State University $7,176
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo $7,176
Middlebury College $14,550
Oberlin College $29,692
Bryn Mawr College $50,730
Smith College $58,480
Williams College $61,775
Wesleyan University $63,722
Vassar College $63,840
Colgate University $63,904

Key Takeaways

Psychology degrees are very broad. There are several types of degrees and numerous concentrations under the umbrella of psychology.
Psychology degrees are offered both on campus and online. While many still believe the traditional brick-and-mortar learning mode is the most amenable, online programs offer the same quality education and follow the same course curriculum as their on-campus counterparts.
A liberal arts college is a great choice if you are looking for smaller class sizes, more engagement with professors, and the opportunity to take a wide range of different types of classes.

Table of Contents

Featured Programs

Psychology: Vital Liberal Arts Major

A student with a psychology major studies human behavior and mental processes, including studying the brain, the mind, and human and animal social interactions.

When looking for the best colleges for a degree in psychology, you need to go through the right steps in assessing multiple programs and schools so you can compare available concentrations, minimum graduation requirements, program and school accreditations, and the cost of attendance.

To find the best psychology program for you, students should also be aware of how many people a school admits into a program each term, whether the programs are offered online, the average time it takes for students to finish the program, and any possible internship opportunities.

This guide helps you answer these questions and provides you with an idea of the factors that need to be addressed when you start to scout for psychology degree programs.

Program Delivery

On-Campus vs. Online. This is one important factor to assess to help you decide which college to attend. On-campus learning is the traditional way of enrolling in a degree, and it comes with several advantages, including access to the school’s library, face-to-face interaction with fellow students and professors, honor societies, and on-campus research opportunities.

On the other hand, online programs are becoming more sophisticated and common. Most of the online programs today may be taken from anywhere, regardless of your residence. But online classes heavily rely on a student’s capacity to complete coursework and be self-motivated, requiring an immense amount of organization and discipline.

While many believe online classes are easier than on-campus programs, this is not true. Both delivery methods follow the same curriculum and are handled by the same faculty. Earning an online degree proves that it’s as challenging as earning it on campus.

Accreditation

Whether at a traditional brick-and-mortar school or online class, psychology programs need the right accreditation. Accreditation not only guarantees that the program meets the standards of quality of the curriculum; it also ensures that it is recognized for future employers’ reference.

Thus, it’s best to choose the degree program and school that has the stamp of approval from different highly-regard psychology accrediting bodies and higher education accrediting bodies, such as the Higher Learning Commission.

Psychology Accrediting Bodies

American Psychological Association (APA)

The most notable organization for psychology education across the United States, APA, is the leading accrediting body for Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degrees.

APA’s Commission on Accreditation awards accreditation to doctoral graduate programs in school, counseling, clinical psychology and other programs that combine two or more of these areas.

APA While it does not accredit bachelor’s or master’s programs in universities, it is responsible for granting accreditation to internship programs for undergraduates and post-doctoral residency programs for a professional psychology practice.

Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation Systems

This independent and non-profit accreditation body is responsible for rigorous accreditation to a Doctor of Philosophy program connected to scientific or psychological clinical science and psychology programs.

National vs. Regional Accreditation

Regional accreditation is considered more prestigious and common than national accreditation. Most universities in the US are regionally accredited. Today, six regional accrediting bodies are associated with a particular country’s division. On the other hand, national accreditation agencies are not limited to or organized by geographic areas and usually have a more lenient standard of the criteria for an acceptable curriculum.

Regionally accredited credits, therefore, are considered the easiest to transfer since the programs themselves are held to a higher standard.

In most cases, transfer students from nationally accredited schools have a tough time transferring their credits since only a few schools offer the same classes they have or that can verify the curriculum’s validity.

Psychology Degrees are Popular and Versatile

Psychology bachelor’s degrees are the 4th most popular undergraduate degree across all student demographics. Only liberal studies, business, and nursing rank ahead of it. Psychology degrees are three times more common among women than men, and rank among the top 5 bachelor’s degrees for both Black people and Hispanics (according to degree-earner numbers reported by the National Center for Educational Statistics).

While psychology is obviously a sensible major if you’re planning on becoming a clinical psychologist, majoring in psychology is also a great starting point for a career as a school counselor, special educator, addiction specialist, criminologist, forensics expert and countless other professions. Some psychology majors will complete a double major, or a minor, in a complimentary area such as education or law enforcement. Beyond that, psychology degrees can be useful in many areas of business like marketing, human resources, conflict resolution, and business management. Our top reason to choose a psycholgoy degree is that you learn to think about how people think, and thus the versatility of a psychology degree is practically limitless.

As a psychology major, you’ll study human development, cognition, and behavior. You’ll learn skills like counseling, behavioral therapy, and clinical treatment for mental health disorders. Students who plan to ultimately become practicing clinical psychologists will be required to earn their doctoral degree in psychology from a program that is accredited by The APA Commission on Accreditation, and subsequently qualify for and pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). However, majoring in psychology as an undergraduate can provide a starting point for a wide range of careers in school counseling, substance abuse treatment, special education, and much more. The best schools for psychology are those which are regionally accredited, which offer a full array of psychology concentrations, and which give you the chance to work with the best and most influential professors and classmates.

Did you know that you could also focus on a career in teaching psychology? Check out our look at the subjects you can teach with a psychology degree.

Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology Bachelor’s Degrees

And if you wish to continue into a doctoral program and ultimately become a practicing psychologist or psychiatrist, this is a natural starting point. Today, top influencers in psychology are breaking new ground in Positive Psychology, the psychology of decision making, the computational theory of mind, and much more.

This four-year undergraduate degree is extremely popular, not just among those who will go on to earn an advanced degree, but for those who will apply the concepts of psychology to a wide range of fields including education, marketing, law enforcement, child welfare, and much more. Organizations of every kind seek mental health professionals, human resource specialists, and organizational leaders with a strong understanding of motivation, behavior, and relationships. Your bachelor’s degree could qualify you to fill one of these needs.

And for those who earn a terminal degree and ascend to the top of the field, earnings are well above the average for all professions. For instance, the Bureau of Labor of Statistics (BLS) indicates that the 2019 median pay for psychologists was $80,370; for postsecondary psychology teachers, $76,620; and for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists, $97,260. These salaries far exceed a national average median for all jobs that falls just under $40,000 per year.

Psychology is a valuable major for anyone interested in learning how the human mind works and what makes people tick. A psychology major will give you insights into how people interact socially, what makes them go off the deep end (abnormal psychology), how to test for personality traits, what the brain can tell us about emotions, and much more. A bachelor’s degree in psychology can prepare you for work in fields as diverse as psychological testing, counseling, and special-needs learning. It is also a great springboard to other areas of graduate study, such as law, education, politics, sociology, and social work.

Psychology tends to be an easy major. It is classified as a social science rather than as a natural or exact science. As such, you can major in psychology without needing to know many, if any, STEM subjects (STEM = Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics). Moreover, by focusing on less technical fields in psychology (such as social psychology or counseling), it’s possible to keep the technical demands of a psychology major to a minimum.

That said, psychology is a field of endless depth and riches, and there will be plenty to keep you challenged if you want to be challenged. Even mathematics and statistics can play a big role in psychology as in psychological assessment/measurement and in mathematical models of cognition (see, for instance, the groundbreaking work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman). Similarly, psychology in the form of neuroscience requires a lot of biology and can also require computer science.

Some majors have what are called “major killers,” in other words, courses designed to weed out students who don’t measure up (computer science and electrical engineering are notorious for having such courses because there is such a demand for majors in these fields). Psychology typically doesn’t have such “major killer” courses.

Course requirements for a psychology major include an introductory course or two that give an overview of the field, and then specific courses covering a range of areas such as cognition, perception, personality theory, abnormal psychology, social psychology, psychological testing, animal learning and behavior, neuropsychology, and counseling. A research methods and statistics course are also required, though beyond that the mathematics requirement tends to be minimal.

Many of the courses that psychology majors take will either have a laboratory component or a separate lab course. These can have human subjects (as in a cognition course testing memory) or animal subjects (as in a animal learning course training rats in an operant conditioning chamber). Taking such lab courses will be especially encouraged if you are thinking of going on to graduate school in psychology.

Advanced psychology majors may also be expected to engage in original research with a professor/mentor, working at on-campus laboratories or research facilities, as well as in the field. In that case, they will work closely with faculty, laboratory support staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows as they explore areas in psychology that interest them.

Many colleges and universities require of their psychology majors a senior capstone project consisting of original research and presented at some meeting or conference via a poster, workshop, or other presentation.

Once you’ve declared your major in psychology, you will likely be required to complete a set of core courses in a number of related subject areas. While your concentration will give you a chance to choose from a wide range of highly-specialized psychology electives, there are several common courses that most psychology majors will be required to take, including:

Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Ethics in Psychology
Theories of Behaviorism
Abnormal Psychology
Forensics Psychology
Research Methodologies in Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Statistics

Your “concentration” refers to a specific area of focus within your major. Many undergraduates will decide their concentrations once they get more familiar with the field of study, but in some cases, whether a school has the concentration you want can be a determining factor for chosing a school. A niche field like forensic psychology simply isn’t offered at every college. Therfore, giving some thought to what concentrations excite you the most can help you choose the right college for your psycholgoy degree. According to The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the following are among the most popular psychology concentrations:

Clinical Psychology
Community Psychology
Counseling Psychology
School Psychology
Educational Psychology
Environmental Psychology
Family Psychology
Applied Psychology
Forensic Psychology
Psychopharmacology

Truth be told, simply having a bachelor’s degree in psychology doesn’t offer you a lot of career options as a psychologist. Usually, additional graduate work or certifications are needed. Unlike engineering, where you can call yourself an “engineer” upon getting your bachelor’s degree in engineering, people tend to call themselves psychologists only when they have additional training beyond the bachelor’s level.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists seven types of professional psychologists:

clinical psychologists,
counseling psychologists,
developmental psychologists,
forensic psychologists,
industrial-organizational psychologists
rehabilitation psychologists, and
school psychologists.

Psychology majors have a lot of career options. You’ll need to earn a doctoral degree in order to practice as a clinical psychologist, as well as a medical degree to become a practicing psychiatrist. A master’s degree can help you hone in on an area of concentration such as education, forensics, or mental health counseling. However, opportunities also abound in a wide range of work settings for undergraduates with an educational background in psychology. Depending on your degree level, a psychology major can lead to a wide range of career opportunities, including these top jobs:

On the last point, applied behavioral analysis (ABA) has become very important with the increase of people on the autism spectrum and their need for special one-on-one training (for which there are not enough psychologists with advanced degrees). Any training and certification in ABA as a psychology major is likely to do you well.

Bottom line: If you are looking to work in the field of psychology with only a bachelor’s degree, you need to have a clear job objective in mind while pursuing your psychology major and you need to acquire the skills (and perhaps certifications) needed to get that job on graduation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Research Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Online Colleges

If you want to major in psychology and get a bachelor’s degree in that field, you need to decide not only which school to attend but also what type of school to attend. The best school for you to major in psychology will depend on the type of school that’s best for you. When it comes to the type of school for pursuing a psychology major, you have three broad choices:

Research universities are schools whose faculty are active in research and publishing. Such institutions offer a wide array of doctoral programs, especially in the sciences. They tend to be big, often with tens of thousands of students.

Is a big high-powered research environment the place for you? In deciding on where to do your psychology major as an undergraduate, ask yourself what sort of environment will best help you to be happy and excel.

Are you good with being a face in a crowd, especially for some of the general introductory psychology classes that you’ll be taking, where you might be one among several hundred students? Are you okay with being a little fish in a big pond?

If you are serious about studying psychology and think you’ll eventually want to get a graduate degree in psychology, then a research university is probably the place for you. If you excel as an undergraduate at a research university, you’ll be able to take graduate courses your junior and senior years, and you may be invited to do research with some of your professors.

A research university can thus be a great springboard if you aspire to be a world-class player in the field of psychology.

But perhaps your interest in psychology isn’t overwhelming. Perhaps you are thinking of psychology more as a stepping stone to other things that interest you, such as a career in law or education. And perhaps you want a more intimate campus.

In that case, a liberal arts college may be just what the doctor ordered. The best liberal arts colleges offer an excellent undergraduate education. In fact, students who do well at a top liberal arts college typically have no problem getting into and thriving at a top research university if upon completing their bachelor’s they decide to go on for further study.

The best liberal arts colleges offer a broad range of subjects for students to study. They typically provide smaller class sizes, more direct engagement with professors, and, most importantly, the opportunity to sample a wide range of subject areas on the way to a bachelor’s degree. Liberal arts colleges stress not only going deep in one’s major but also going broad.

Here’s another reason you might appreciate the breadth of a liberal arts education: about 80 percent of undergraduate students end up changing majors while in college and 60 percent of college grads would change majors if they had to do it again. Liberal arts colleges keep you from getting too narrowly focused.

The verdict is in: other things being equal, a campus-based college experience is preferable to a purely online college experience. Indeed, nothing beats direct personal contact with faculty and fellow students. Body language, facial cues, voice intonation and a host of other factors like this get lost in going from “real reality” to “virtual reality.” These factors enhance the educational process and get lost in online education.

There was a key caveat in the previous paragraph: other things being equal. As it is, other things are rarely equal. You may be a second career student with a family to take care of and no way to juggle these obligations with a commute to a local campus. Online education may then be your only option.

Or it may be that you thrive on independence and solitude, working at your own pace and schedule, viewing video lectures and digital materials at your convenience. Online education gives you unmatched flexibility to pursue your education on your terms.

Life is a matter of tradeoffs. Pursuing a psychology major online will mean missing out on the benefits of campus life. Such benefits include everything from having housing and meals provided on campus to in-person office hours and counseling services. But where a campus-based education is not an option, an online education may be quite doable.

If you think a research university may be a better fit for you, see our ranking of the best research universities for a bachelor’s in psychology.

How do we determine the best psychology liberal arts colleges?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Influence”.

The influence of a college or university is based on the schools’s top academic influencers related to the discipline in this ranking. We track the influence of faculty and alumni affiliate with these school counting not only the publications and citations of the school’s affiliated people, but we also consider the overall web presence of the faculty and alumni. The greater the citations, authority of web links, web searches, and page views, the greater the individuals’s influence. Those combined make up the departments’s influence in the field of study. We believe tracking the academic influence of the people affiliated with a school is the best indicator of academic excellence.

If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and misused performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is more insulated from manipulation, and more reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Ranking: Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Students with Psychology Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Psychology

Degree Level: Bachelor's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Starting Salary*: $31,232
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $41,564
* denotes ‘annually’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists	5.81%	$147,420
Managers, All Other	5.75%	$133,560
Psychologists, All Other	4.95%	$117,750
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	13.28%	$96,100
Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary	4.89%	$82,140
Social Science Research Assistants	6.40%	$56,400

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists	$147,420
Managers, All Other	$133,560
Psychologists, All Other	$117,750
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$96,100
Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary	$82,140
Social Science Research Assistants	$56,400

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Go to all Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology programs

The Best Psychology Schools in Your State

Learn More About Psychology

If you want to know more about psychology, then check out our related content:

Learn how to major in psychology
Think about your next step and what you can do with a master’s degree in psychology
Learn more about psychology from our interviews with influential psychologists
Find out who are the most influential psychologists today

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology Degrees

Top 10 Undergraduate Psychology Programs at Liberal Arts Colleges

Key Takeaways

Featured Programs

Psychology: Vital Liberal Arts Major

Program Delivery

Accreditation

Psychology Accrediting Bodies

National vs. Regional Accreditation

Psychology Degrees are Popular and Versatile

Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology Bachelor’s Degrees

What can I do with a psychology major?

Is psychology a good major?

Is a psychology major valuable?

Is a psychology major hard?

What are the requirements for a psychology major?

What courses will I take as a psychology major?

What concentrations are there in psychology?

What jobs can I do with a psychology major?

Frequently Asked Questions About Research Universities, Liberal Arts Colleges, Online Colleges

Should I Go to a Research University for a Psychology Degree?

Should I Go to a Liberal Arts College for a Psychology Degree?

Should I Go to College Online?

Ranking: Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Swarthmore College

Most Influential Alumni

Swarthmore College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Wesleyan University

Most Influential Alumni

Wesleyan University Psychology Majors

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Amherst College

Most Influential Alumni

Amherst College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Pomona College

Most Influential Alumni

Pomona College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Wellesley College

Most Influential Alumni

Wellesley College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Claremont McKenna College

Most Influential Alumni

Claremont McKenna College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Bowdoin College

Most Influential Alumni

Bowdoin College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Williams College

Most Influential Alumni

Williams College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Barnard College

Most Influential Alumni

Barnard College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Vassar College

Most Influential Alumni

Vassar College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Reed College

Most Influential Alumni

Reed College Psychology Majors

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Middlebury College

Most Influential Alumni

Middlebury College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Oberlin College

Most Influential Alumni

Oberlin College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Carleton College

Most Influential Alumni

Carleton College Psychology Major Fields of Study

Most Influential Alumni

West Point Psychology Major Tracks

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Davidson College

Most Influential Alumni

Davidson College Psychology Major

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Colgate University

Most Influential Alumni

Colgate University Psychology Majors

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Smith College

Most Influential Alumni

Smith College Psychology Major Tracks

Career Outlook for Psychology degree at Kenyon College

Most Influential Alumni

Kenyon College Psychology Majors