Top 10 universities for psychology degrees 2026

Insights into the top 10 universities for psychology 2026

Explore the full table for best universities for psychology here.

Psychology is the study of the mind and human behaviour. Psychology students will learn about emotions, what motivates us and how we interact with each other.

Many psychology graduates go on to become professional psychologists; however, a degree in psychology can also lead to careers in childcare, social work or in the legal profession. 

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Times Higher Education has released a ranking of the 694 best universities for psychology degrees.

Nearly a quarter of the universities in the overall ranking (150 universities) are in the US. The next most-represented country is the UK, with 92 universities present. Germany, Australia and Canada are also well represented, with37,  36, 37 and 31 universities, respectively.

The ranking uses the same methodology as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, but with a higher weighting for citations and a lower weighting for teaching. The full methodology can be found here.

The top 10 universities for psychology degrees

1. University of Cambridge

The psychological and behavioural sciences tripos at the University of Cambridge covers teaching in cognitive, social, developmental and biological psychology within the broader context of the behavioural sciences.

Undergraduates are able to conduct laboratory work from their second year onwards to supplement their coursework and seminar learning.

As students progress through the course, there are opportunities to specialise further.

Potential study areas include statistics, neuroanatomy, neurotransmitters, neuroimaging, developmental psychology, psychopathology, cognitive psychology, language, gender, family relationships and influences, personality and group social behaviour.

2. Stanford University

The department of psychology at Stanford University was one of the first to be established at the institution.

Research is carried out in areas including addictive behaviours, psychopathology and risk, and stereotyping.

Undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are available, with the latter emphasising research training. The department is split into five research groups known as department areas, namely science, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and social psychology.

The department has close ties with many other departments at Stanford, such as biology, law, medicine and business. There are also aims to increase participation in various interdisciplinary programmes on campus.

3. University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley’s psychology department undertakes research in areas including development, cognition, social-personality and cognitive neuroscience among others. 

The undergraduate psychology department holds regular peer adviser workshops for students to learn more about applying for postgraduate education and undertaking research projects. 

The UC Berkeley Psychology Clinic offers training to talented PhD students every year while providing psychological and clinical support to residents of the Bay Area. 

4. Princeton University

The psychology department at Princeton University has produced six Distinguished Contributions awards from the American Psychological Association, one Nobel prizewinner and three William James Fellow Awards from the Association for Psychological Science.

Graduate study is focused on systems neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, perception and cognition, personality and social psychology, and physiological psychology.

The department is closely affiliated with the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, which conducts research on neuroscience and psychological function.

5. Harvard University

Psychology is one of the most popular courses of study at undergraduate level at Harvard University.

Undergraduate students can choose one of three study tracks: the general track, which offers the greatest flexibility; the cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology track; and the cognitive science track.

The graduate programme covers four major research themes: cognition, brain and behaviour; developmental psychology; social psychology; and clinical science.

6. UCL

The UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences is the largest department of its kind in the UK, with more than 120 academic staff members and approximately 1,500 students.

The undergraduate programme at UCL is accredited by the British Psychological Society and graduates are eligible to become members.

As well as undergraduate courses, the department offers 20 master’s degrees in topics including business psychology, neuroscience, decision science and human-computer interaction.

7. Yale University

Undergraduate psychology students at Yale University are advised to take modules that have similar characteristics in order to have a more coherent overview of the subject. A requirement of the undergraduate major is that students take two classes from the social sciences point of view and two classes from the natural sciences point of view. 

There is also a neuroscience concentration for students who wish to specialise in that area of psychology. 

The graduate programme annually enrols about 15 new PhD students. When applying to the department, each potential graduate student must indicate one of five areas that they will concentrate on and will usually have an affiliation in a particular lab.

8. University of Pennsylvania

The psychology programme at the University of Pennsylvania can be studied as part of a liberal arts programme or as a complement to another programme. There are a range of courses that can be taken as part of a psychology programme including language and thought, social psychology, cognitive neuroscience and neuroeconomics. 

The graduate psychology programme requires students to engage in both coursework and research. Students are also expected to attend seminars and lectures. 

9. King’s College London

The department of psychology at King’s College London was founded in 1950. It has a long-standing link with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. 

The department offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. These include the doctorate in clinical psychology, the MSc in health psychology, and BSc programmes: psychology, neuroscience with psychology, and intercalated BSc in psychology. It also offers a range of clinical training programmes for mental health professionals. 

10. The University of Chicago

The psychology department at The University of Chicago is over a centurty old. 

Psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate majors at the university. The undergraduate course provides an overview of the subject with the option for students to specialise later on depending on their interests. Students are encouraged to take part in research projects throughout their studies. 

The Psychology Club is open to all undergraduate students. The club organises faculty talks, paper discussions, events for the holidays, and study groups. There is also an annual undergraduate psychology journal, Life of the Mind, where students can contribute articles, or work as editors or designers. 

Graduate study covers a range of topics including cognition, computational cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, integrative neuroscience and social psychology.