As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for 2021, the average median wage for psychologists is $81,040 per year — or $38.96 per hour.
For the 10-year period between 2021 to 2031, it’s estimated that psychology jobs will grow by 6%. This amounts to 11,300 new jobs and is considered average industry growth.
California, New York, and Illinois have the most jobs for clinical and counseling psychologists. Texas and Massachusetts also have a comparatively high number of psychology jobs.
This list features some of the most affordable online bachelor’s in psychology programs at top colleges across the country. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. The programs on our list are available at accredited institutions, including the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA).
We evaluated each school’s program on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for online students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
Next, we compared this comprehensive list of affordable online bachelor’s in psychology programs to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
Understanding the financial considerations of an online bachelor’s degree in psychology is a must for any prospective student. If you happen to be repaying loans from your associate degree, the amount of funding you’ll be able to receive from the federal government may be limited. To find out how much money you’ll need to complete the program, check the per-credit tuition rate and number of credits required to graduate.
One of the reasons working students gravitate to online degree programs is for the flexibility. It’s possible to continue to work your regular schedule while earning your bachelor’s; however, excellent time management skills are a must to balance school and work demands. It’s also important to be a self-starter, which means you’ll need plenty of motivation to complete school assignments when you may be tired from work. Other components necessary for earning an online degree are a computer and internet setup that meets the program’s technological requirements.
Here are some questions to ask when researching online bachelor’s in psychology programs: