Clinical Psychology Degrees (2026 stats)

Clinical Psychology: what the data shows

Common questions about clinical psychology degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a clinical psychology degree?

A Clinical Psychology program is classified under NCES CIP 42.2801 in the Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology field family (42.28).

A program that prepares individuals for the independent professional practice of clinical psychology, involving the analysis, diagnosis, and clinical treatment of psychological disorders and behavioral pathologies. Includes instruction in clinical assessment and diagnosis, personality appraisal, psychopathology, clinical psychopharmacology, behavior modification, therapeutic intervention skills, patient interviewing, personalized and group therapy, child and adolescent therapy, cognitive and behavioral therapy, supervised clinical practice, ethical standards, and applicable regulations

IPEDS counted 285 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.

Types of clinical psychology degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 42.28 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

• Applied Behavior Analysis (CIP 42.2814)
• Applied Psychology (CIP 42.2813)
• Clinical Child Psychology (CIP 42.2807)
• Community Psychology (CIP 42.2802)
• Counseling Psychology (CIP 42.2803)
• Educational Psychology (CIP 42.2806)
• Environmental Psychology (CIP 42.2808)
• Family Psychology (CIP 42.2811)
• Forensic Psychology (CIP 42.2812)
• Geropsychology (CIP 42.2809)
• Health/Medical Psychology (CIP 42.2810)
• Industrial and Organizational Psychology (CIP 42.2804)
• Performance and Sport Psychology (CIP 42.2815)
• School Psychology (CIP 42.2805)
• Somatic Psychology (CIP 42.2816)
• Transpersonal/Spiritual Psychology (CIP 42.2817)

How long does it take to get a clinical psychology degree?

Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 42.2801 in our file:

• 4 Associate (0.1% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
• 285 Bachelor's (8.2% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
• 3,156 Master's (90.8% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
• 30 Doctorate (0.9% of IPEDS total)—varies by program

Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.

What do you learn in clinical psychology?

O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.

What degree do you need?

For Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).

O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.

What jobs can you get with a clinical psychology degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Clinical Psychology to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a clinical psychology degree worth it?

College Scorecard national medians for the Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology bachelor's program family: median debt $40,066, median earnings $50,523 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.16.

About 5.6% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.

Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $12,700 and median net price is $12,909.

We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.