Top Universities for Psychology in 2015

**This article covers the 2015 psychology ranking. Click here to discover the top universities for psychology in 2019.**

This fascinating and fast-evolving field of enquiry is a hugely popular field of study and research worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015 features a ranking of the world’s 200 top universities for psychology, based on a methodology which draws on employer and academic reputation, and data on research citations.

For a general overview of the top psychology schools in each world region, plus the overall top 10, see below. Or, to search and compare using the interactive ranking table, click here.

Top universities for psychology in the US and Canada

The US claims a mammoth share of the top universities for psychology, including six in the top 10 alone. Outside of the top 10 there are another 57 US universities featured, including 33 in the world’s top 100. Within the top 50 are New York University (NYU, 41^st in the QS World University Rankings® 2014/15), University of Pennsylvania (13^th in the world rankings), Columbia University (14^th in the world rankings), the University of Chicago (11^th in the world rankings), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, 1^st in the world rankings), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (63^rd in the world rankings), University of Minnesota (119^th in the world rankings), University of Texas at Austin (79^th in the world rankings), University of Wisconsin-Madison (41^st in the world rankings), Duke University (25^th in the world rankings), Northwestern University (34^th in the world rankings), Brown University (52^nd in the world rankings), Ohio State University (109^th in the world rankings) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD, 59^th in the world rankings).

Meanwhile neighboring Canada has a total of 16 top psychology schools featured, including seven within the world’s top 100. In the world’s top 50 are the University of Toronto (20^th in the world rankings), the University of British Colombia (43^rd in the world rankings) and McGill University (21^st in the world rankings).

Learn more about studying in the US and Canada with our regional guide.

Top universities for psychology in Europe

After the US, the UK claims the next highest number of top universities for psychology, occupying four of the top 10 positions. As well as those listed in the table above, also in the top 50 are King’s College London (KCL, 16^th in the world rankings), Cardiff University (123^rd in the world rankings), the University of Edinburgh (17^th in the world rankings), London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE, 71^st in the world rankings) and the University of Manchester (30^th in the world rankings).

Meanwhile Germany is home to 13 of the world’s top psychology schools, with two ranked among the global top 100: Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin (134^th in the world rankings) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (52^nd in the world rankings).

Following on is the Netherlands, with nine schools featured in the psychology ranking, all among the top 100. In the top 50 are the University of Amsterdam (50^th in the world rankings), Vrije Universiteit  Amsterdam (171^st in the world rankings), Erasmus University Rotterdam (90^th in the world rankings) and Radboud University Nijmegen (156^th in the world rankings).

Six more top psychology schools are claimed by Spain and five by Belgium, while Switzerland, Sweden and Italy each have four. Among these countries, universities ranked within the top 100 for psychology include Belgium’s University of Ghent (129^th in the world rankings) and KU Leuven (82^nd in the world rankings); Switzerland’s University of Geneva (85^th in the world rankings) and the University of Zurich (57^th in the world rankings); Sweden’s Karolinska Institute; and Italy’s Università di Bologna (UNIBO, 182^nd in the world rankings).

Beyond Sweden, the other Nordic countries offer an additional six entrants in the ranking, with two each for Denmark, Finland and Norway. These are Denmark’s Aarhus University (96^th in the world rankings) and the University of Copenhagen (45^th in the world rankings); Finland’s University of Helsinki (67^th in the world rankings) and the University of Turku (208^th in the world rankings); and Norway’s University of Bergen (155^th in the world rankings) and the University of Oslo (101^st in the world rankings).

Lastly in Europe, there are two entries in the psychology ranking from France within the world’s top 200, including the Université Aix-Marseille (341^st in the world rankings), and one each for both Austria and Ireland: Universität Wien (University of Vienna, 156^th in the world rankings) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD, 71^st in the world rankings) respectively.

Learn more studying throughout Europe with our country guides.

Top universities for psychology in Asia

An additional 12 of the world’s 200 top psychology universities are claimed by Asia. Hong Kong and Singapore each have three representatives in the ranking, including the University of Hong Kong (HKU, 28th in the world rankings), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK, 46th in the world rankings), the National University of Singapore (NUS, 22^nd in the world rankings) and Nangyang Technological University (NTU, 39^th in the world rankings) – all ranked among the world’s top 50 for psychology.

China and Japan each have two schools featured, including China’s Peking University (57^th in the world rankings) and Japan’s University of Tokyo (31^st in the world rankings), both within the top 100 worldwide. South Korea and Taiwan each make one appearance, with Seoul National University (SNU, 31^st in the world rankings) and National Taiwan University (NTU, 76^th in the world rankings) respectively.

See the latest QS University Rankings: Asia to discover more top universities in Asia, or learn more about studying in the region with our country guides.

Top universities for psychology in Australia and New Zealand

Australia boasts 17 of the world’s top universities for psychology, while New Zealand has four. Australia’s representatives within the top 50 are the University of Melbourne (33^rd in the world rankings), the University of New South Wales (48^th in the world rankings), the University of Queensland (UQ, 43^rd in the world rankings), the University of Sydney (37^th in the world rankings), Australian National University (ANU, 25^th in the world), the University of Western Australia (UWA, 89^th in the world rankings) and Monash University (70^th in the world rankings).

Two of New Zealand’s offerings are also among the world’s top 50 psychology schools: the University of Auckland (92^nd in the world rankings) and the University of Otago (159^th in the world rankings)

Find out more about studying in Australia and New Zealand with our country guides.

Top universities for psychology in Latin America

There are four Latin American universities featured in the psychology ranking, with one entrant each for Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. In order, these are the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, 198^th in the world rankings), the Universidade de São Paulo (USP, 132^nd in the world rankings), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (167^th in the world rankings) and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, 175^th in the world rankings).

Top universities for psychology in the Middle East & Africa

Finally, Israel and South Africa each claim one entrant each – these are Tel Aviv University (195^th in the world rankings) and the University of Cape Town (141^st in the world rankings).

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