A: This is definitely one of the most popular questions students ask us and, unfortunately, we don’t have the type of answer they (and probably you) are looking for. The reality is that there isn’t one “best” psychology program out there.

Yes, I know there are rankings of programs and schools by groups such as US News and World Report. If you want to see the 2004 psychology rankings go to: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/phdhum/phdhumindex_brief.php

But I have to say that, at least in my opinion, these rankings can be quite misleading – what’s important is that you find the school and program that’s best for you, not the one with the highest ranking by some magazine.

Even the APA specifically states that they don’t rank psychology programs. According to the APA, they don’t rank programs because programs “differ in their purposes and emphases, as well as many other factors (e.g., number and qualities of students admitted, number and qualities of faculty, financial resources available, etc.)”. Although a school may rank highly because they bring in a lot of research money, this doesn’t mean you will get the type of education or experience you really want. So be careful when looking at these rankings.