7 Best Ivy League Schools for Psychology

4. University of Pennsylvania

World University rank: 15

US News rank: 12

The psychology program at the PEN University, which ranks as fourth on our list seven best Ivy League schools for psychology, is the oldest continuously functioning in the US. The department is proud of its long history during which it has been home to members of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. List of faculty members has also included presidents of prominent institutions such as the American Psychological Association, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, and Linguistics Society of America. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the PEN undergraduate program in psychology is that students are expected to complete one year of empirical research which can be done either by taking Research Experience course or by doing a research project. The focus on the first-hand experience reflects the department’s aim of training students to apply practically the knowledge they acquire through course work. Moreover, psychology majors at PEN need to have mastery of statistics. Their older peers are admitted to the program as a whole and together with faculty they choose their primary area of inquiry. Research fields at PEN can be divided into two broad categories – Brain, cognition and decision science, and Clinical, positive and social psychology, both of which have numerous sub-fields. Besides doing coursework, graduates at PEN deepen their knowledge through research projects, seminars, and teaching.

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