We ranked the most affordable doctoral degrees in psychology.
Becoming a practicing psychologist will require you to earn your PhD in clinical psychology or a related area like developmental psychology, educational psychology, or health psychology. Historically, earning a doctoral degree in psychology has been a costly undertaking. Fortunately, a growing number of online Ph.D in psychology programs have made it increasingly affordable to earn a PhD.
If you’re interested in an alternative career in an area like counseling psychology, check out the very best online master’s degree programs in mental health counseling. Otherwise, read on to learn more about the most affordable online doctoral programs in various areas of professional psychology.
Becoming a clinical psychologist will require you to complete a doctoral program. But there are several steps that you’ll need to complete first before being eligible for a clinical psychology program.
Typically, you will be required to first earn an accredited undergraduate degree. Earning a psychology degree is a popular option, though some graduate students will pursue a bachelor’s or even a master’s degree in a related subject like mental health counseling or school psychology. Either of these degrees is an appropriate pathway into the online doctor of psychology program.
Students earning doctoral degrees aren’t typically required to earn a master’s degree first. However, earning a master’s degree in a specific area of practice may better prepare students for the challenges of the advanced psychology degree program. Some graduate university programs may even count some master’s degree credits toward the completion of the online doctoral degree.
Before you pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, be sure this is the proper subdiscipline for you. Developmental psychology programs are often geared toward students pursuing careers in education, educational psychology, educational leadership, and more. For prospective students that plan to become school psychologists, a focused doctoral program in developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, or counseling psychology might be a better fit.
Look for online doctoral programs geared toward educational psychology, developmental psychology, or school psychology, rather than clinical practice. Fortunately, many of the best online programs offer a combination of core psychology courses and a wide range of subdisciplines.
The same logic applies to organizational psychology programs. If you plan to apply your psychology skills and knowledge in an organizational setting, you may want to focus your online Ph.D in psychology in an area like human and organizational psychology, industrial organizational psychology, transpersonal psychology, or leadership psychology. You can earn an online doctorate in each of these highly specialized fields.
Depending on your career goals, it may also be possible to find a leadership role in an organization after earning a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology or a related area of study.
The psychology doctorate can be built around a number of highly specialized areas like sport and performance psychology, social psychology, health psychology, forensic psychology, media psychology, wellness psychology, and much more. As a PhD candidate, you will generally be expected to design your own applied doctoral project. This, combined with your dissertation courses and research courses, will give you a chance to focus your studies on the area of psychology where you hope to pursue a career.
The purpose of this ranking is to demonstrate affordability among online PhDs in psychology. Therefore, we filtered our findings to include only those graduate schools which offer a fully online doctoral degree in psychology.
After filtering for degree level, we ranked these PhD programs based on tuition rates and predominance of online degree offerings. The institutions ranked below all offer fully online doctoral degree programs in psychology for less than $10,000 per year.
Looking for information on even more affordable degrees? Check out our in-depth guide to affordable degree programs if you are looking to keep the costs as low as possible while still getting a quality education.
The following graph depicts the average salaries of similar occupations to School Psychologists in the U.S.
Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
62%
Student body
79K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/25
Liberty University is one of the largest Christian universities in the world as well as one of the largest private non-profit universities in the U.S. Much of this size is based on its online enrollment.
Liberty University enrolls roughly 15,000 residential students across its 17 colleges, and an additional 80,000 through its extensive online course and degree offerings.
Wish to attend the world’s largest seminary—Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity.
Students who do not identify with Evangelical Christianity.
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
68%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/26
University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss, was chartered in 1844. It is both the oldest and largest public university in the state of Mississippi.
University of Mississippi is closely affiliated with legendary American novelist and former undergraduate student, William Faulkner.
Wish to earn degrees in sciences such as space science, acoustic sciences, and supercomputing.
Aren’t interested in Greek Life. With more than 7,000 affiliated students, fraternities and sororities play a key role in campus life at Ole Miss.
Tuition + fees
$18K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
45%
Student body
94K
Grand Canyon University serves more than 90,000 students, which makes it the largest Christian university in the world.
Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit university that was initially established in 1949 as Grand Canyon College. Today, the Southern Baptist institution serves more than 70,000 students online. Interestingly, Grand Canyon is the only for-profit school that competes in NCAA Division I athletics.
Are interested in doctoral studies, nursing and health care professions, and theology.
Require a degree with regional accreditation.
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
67%
Student body
49K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/26
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and has rapidly grown into the fifth largest public university in the United States. FIU serves more than 56,000 students at both the graduate and undergraduate level across 11 colleges.
Florida International University is based in Miami-Dade and reflects the region’s emphasis on college athletics. FIU’s intercollegiate teams have secured five athletic championships across various sports.
Like to get the best bang for their buck. FIU ranks tops in the state for “performance funding.”
Prefer a small campus and an intimate learning experience.
Tuition + fees
$29K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
57%
Student body
3K
Hampton University is a private HBCU based in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 by a joint commission of Black and White leaders, Hampton was established with the mission of educating freedmen in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. Civil War.
Today, Hampton University is home to 16 leading research facilities, including the largest free-standing Proton Therapy Institute in the world.
Wish to attend an HBCU that consistently ranks among the top ten Historically Black institutions.
Prefer a college with a major athletics program.
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
52%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1020/21
Troy University was established in Troy, Alabama as a regional teachers college in 1887. Today, the Troy campus is the flagship school in a university system that includes four campuses as well as teaching sites across 17 U.S. states and 11 countries.
Troy University awards education degrees both online and on campus to students at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels as well as serving various educational specializations.
Plan to study liberal arts subjects such as education, communications, and human services.
Prefer a university with a higher rate of selectivity. More than 90% of applicants typically gain admission each year.
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
100%
Graduation
29%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
990/19
Adams State University is a public university based in Alamosa, Colorado and serving roughly 3,500 students. Beginning as a teacher’s college in 1921, today Adams State offers both on-campus and online degrees.
Adams State University awards a focused selection of degrees, with 16 bachelor’s degree programs alongside seven master’s degrees, and one doctoral degree program.
Enjoy a small-school experience.
Are still trying to decide upon their major or degree focus.
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
41%
Graduation
62%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/25
Regent University is a private Christian University that provides an array of both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Founded in 1977 by Southern Baptist Minister Pat Robertson, Regent University offers a wide range of both online and on-campus degree programs.
Regent University serves more than 10,000 students today, with many pursuing online degrees at the master’s and doctoral degree levels.
Are pursuing advanced degrees online. More than 60% of Regent’s students are in post-graduate programs.
Prefer a secular educational experience.
Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
49%
Graduation
63%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1200/25
Mississippi College was founded in 1826, which makes it the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Mississippi. Mississippi College is also the second oldest Baptist college in the United States.
Mississippi College has grown rapidly in recent years, with the rate of enrollees jumping 60% between 2002 and 2015.
With an interest in public service. Mississippi College places an emphasis on student and staff participation in local community service opportunities.
Prefer a secular learning environment.
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
70%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1090/24
Marywood University is a private Catholic university located in Scranton, Pennsylvania and serving more than 2,800 students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.
Marywood University has a history that traces as far back as 1878, with the establishment of St. Cecilia’s academy “for young ladies.” Today, Marywood is coeducational.
Enjoy natural beauty. Marywood is home to a national arboretum featuring more than 100 species of tree and shrub.
Prefer the cultural experience of a large college campus.