What Are the Best Health Psychology Degree Programs and Schools?
Learn about top schools where you could study health psychology. Find out the degree levels offered at these schools, and get information about their facilities and rankings.
What Are Some Characteristics of the Best Health Psychology Degree Programs?
If you're interested in a doctoral program in health psychology, you might look for a school that has a highly ranked clinical psychology program. However, you'll need to confirm a specialization in health psychology is offered, since not all schools offer this specialization. Selecting a school that has related institutes as well as research, practicum and/or internship opportunities in health psychology is also beneficial. Additionally, you might seek a program that's accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).
What Are Three Top Health Psychology Schools?
Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, AZ
ASU's graduate program in clinical psychology tied for 41st in the country in 2016, and the school as a whole tied 115th among top national universities for 2019, based on U.S. News & World Report rankings.
The Department of Psychology offers a 5-year clinical Ph.D. program, which is accredited by both the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) and the APA. Students can enter this program with only a bachelor's degree and will earn a master's degree en route to their doctorate. The program offers a health psychology track and includes a full-time, 1-year internship. In addition to the internship and coursework, students must complete a master's thesis, a dissertation and multiple supervised clinical practicums and pass a comprehensive exam. This program is highly competitive and typically admits less than ten students per year from a pool of 200-300 applicants.
- Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology
University of Miami (UM) in Coral Gables, FL
UM ranked 53rd among U.S. News & World Report's best national universities in 2019, and its graduate clinical psychology program tied for 25th. The university's Department of Psychology offers a Ph.D. in Psychology with a health clinical track. As a student in this APA-accredited program, you might conduct research in cardiovascular disorders, psychoneuroimmunology and HIV/AIDS, psycho-oncology or chronic fatigue syndrome. Additionally, doctoral students complete a master's thesis, with a master's degree awarded during the course of their Ph.D. program, as well as a doctoral dissertation.
In the course of your studies, you also would complete a 1-year internship as well as a minimum of five practicums. UM's Medical School campus offers a variety of clinical opportunities for health psychology students. For example, your practicums might take place at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, in the Department of Pediatrics or in the cancer center of Mt. Sinai Medical Center.
- Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN
In 2016, Vanderbilt tied for 16th in the U.S. News & World Report evaluation of graduate clinical psychology programs and was 14th among national universities in 2019. Health psychology is one of nine focus areas you can choose from in Vanderbilt's doctoral program in psychological sciences, which is accredited by APA. Research grants at the school are funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation. As a doctoral candidate, you'll have access to Vanderbilt's medical school and research centers, including the John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, the Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute.
- Clinical Psychological Science Doctorate
Ten Schools with Health Psychology Programs
| College/University | Institution Type | Location | Estimated Graduate In-State Tuition* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian University | 4-year, Private | Abilene, TX | $21,500 |
| Brigham Young University | 4-year, Private | Provo, UT | $7,000 |
| Rutgers University | 4-year, Public | New Brunswick, NJ | $19,000 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | 4-year, Public | Los Angeles, CA | $13,000 |
| University of Colorado | 4-year, Public | Denver, CO | $8,000 |
| University of Pittsburgh | 4-year, Public | Pittsburgh, PA | $23,000 |
| University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center | 4-year, Public | Dallas, TX | $7,000 |
| University of North Carolina | 4-year, Public | Charlotte, NC | $7,000 |
| CUNY Graduate Center | 4-year, Public | New York NY | $10,000 |
| East Carolina University | 4-year, Public | Greenville, NC | $7,000 |
*Source: NCES, U.S. Department of Education