Psychology major
Psychology: courses, careers, and where to study
Psychology majors study human cognition, behavior, and emotion, preparing graduates for clinical, research, business, and human-services careers (and graduate school in clinical, counseling, and I/O psych).
Psychology is one of the most popular U.S. majors, with about 116,000 bachelor's degrees awarded each year. Programs cover developmental, social, cognitive, abnormal, biological, and personality psychology, plus statistics and research methods. Many BS-track programs require additional natural-science prerequisites for graduates aiming at clinical or counseling psychology graduate school.
A Psychology bachelor's degree alone qualifies graduates for human-services, case-management, sales, marketing, and HR roles. Clinical practice requires a master's (LPC) or doctoral (PhD/PsyD) degree.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Psychology maps to CIP 42.0101, Psychology, General, within the PSYCHOLOGY family. The official definition:
A general program that focuses on the scientific study of individual and collective behavior, the physical and environmental bases of behavior, and the analysis and treatment of behavior problems and disorders. Includes instruction in the principles of the various subfields of psychology, research methods, and psychological assessment and testing methods.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Psychology is awarded as
Of the 145,761 Psychology credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate<1%402
- Associate13%18,560
- Bachelor's81%117,955
- Graduate6%8,844
This mix is fairly consistent nationally: across the 51 states reporting it, the certificate share moves by about 1 percentage points between the 10th and 90th percentile state, so the credential is more a property of the field than of where you study it. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- General, developmental, and social psychology
- Abnormal and clinical psychology
- Cognitive psychology and neuroscience
- Biological psychology
- Statistics and research methods
- Personality theory
- Industrial-organizational psychology
- Senior research project or internship
Typical careers
- Case Manager / Human Services
- School Counselor (with M.Ed)
- Industrial-Organizational Psychologist
- Clinical Psychologist (PsyD/PhD)
- Marketing / UX Researcher
- HR Specialist
Typical salary range: $45,000–$72,000 early-career (varies; clinical PhD median far higher)Ranges are early-career estimates. Any BLS figure shown is the occupation-wide median across all experience levels, not a starting wage, and is informational only.
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Psychology, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managers, All Other | $136,550 | 106,700 | +4.5% | Bachelor's degree |
| Social Science Research Assistants | $58,040 | 5,200 | +4.4% | Bachelor's degree |
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | $95,830 | 4,800 | +11.2% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | $80,330 | 4,000 | +3.6% | Doctoral or professional degree |
| Psychologists, All Other | $117,580 | 3,900 | +4.3% | Master's degree |
| Industrial-Organizational Psychologists | $109,840 | 400 | +6.3% | Master's degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 6 of these 6 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Psychology does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
Before you commit to a Psychology major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Psychology program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Psychology department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Psychology program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Psychology credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityNH · 4,494
- University of Central FloridaFL · 1,677
- Florida International UniversityFL · 1,642
- Liberty UniversityVA · 1,564
- Arizona State University Digital ImmersionAZ · 1,291
- California State University-FullertonCA · 1,106
- California State University-NorthridgeCA · 1,057
- Capella UniversityMN · 1,048
- University of South FloridaFL · 921
- Arizona State University Campus ImmersionAZ · 908
- Florida State UniversityFL · 897
- University of California-Los AngelesCA · 799
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Psychology credentials were awarded
48 states have a distinct enough set of Psychology colleges to be worth its own page.
- California186
- Pennsylvania111
- New York90
- Texas87
- Ohio62
- North Carolina48
- Illinois48
- Massachusetts47
- Michigan43
- Georgia41
- Virginia40
- Indiana40
- Florida39
- Iowa37
- Missouri36
- Tennessee32
- Wisconsin30
- New Jersey29
- South Carolina28
- Minnesota27
- Oklahoma27
- Kansas25
- Alabama24
- Maryland23
- Louisiana23
- Kentucky23
- Arizona21
- Connecticut20
- Mississippi20
- Arkansas20
- Washington18
- Nebraska16
- Oregon15
- New Hampshire13
- West Virginia13
- New Mexico11
- Idaho11
- Montana11
- Maine11
- Utah8
- Rhode Island8
- District of Columbia8
- South Dakota8
- Wyoming7
- North Dakota7
- Vermont6
- Nevada5
- Hawaii5
Related majors
Sociology
Sociology studies social institutions, group behavior, inequality, and culture, preparing graduates for research, policy, social services, and graduate school in law or social work.
Social Work
Social Work prepares graduates for licensed direct practice with individuals, families, and communities, combining behavioral sciences with field placements and an explicit ethical framework.
Biology
Biology is the foundational pre-health major, covering molecular, cellular, organismal, and ecological levels of living systems.
Health Sciences
Health Sciences is a broad pre-professional major for students preparing for medical, dental, PA, PT, or pharmacy school, combining biology, chemistry, and patient-care exposure.
Still deciding between Psychology and something else?
These guides put Psychologyside by side with the major it is most often confused with, using the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk to show where the two actually lead.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Psychology degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Science & Research careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
Explore Management careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Psychology degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Psychology path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.