Last updated February 11, 2022
Next in my series on How To Fully Fund Your PhD, I provide a list of universities that offer full funding to all students admitted to their doctoral programs in Psychology. A PhD in Psychology provides you the credentials to join or start your own practice in clinical psychology, or pursue academic or practitioner careers in school psychology, health psychology, social psychology and organizational psychology. Jobs in these fields include social work, counseling, teaching, research, human resources, marketing, public health and behavioral science.
It’s important to note that when seeking funding for the duration of your doctoral studies, it is ideal to be accepted to programs offering full funding to all admitted students. When a university indicates that they provide full funding to their PhD students, in most cases this means they provide each admitted doctoral student full tuition and a stipend for living expenses for the four to six-year duration of the student’s doctoral studies. Not all universities provide full funding to their doctoral students, so be sure to research the financial aid offerings of all the potential PhD programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad. A great place to look for external funding is our fellowships database, which lists several competitive fellowships for graduate and doctoral study.
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Columbia University, PhD in Psychology (New York, NY): All students accepted to the five-year program receive a fellowship, which supports tuition, health and insurance fees, and an annual stipend through the fifth year, provided that they maintain good academic standing.
Harvard University, PhD in Psychology (Cambridge, MA): All admitted PhD students are provided with fellowship packages with up to 6 years of tuition, 3 years of 10-month support, 4 summers of research fellowships, and the guarantee of a Teaching Fellowship for the 3rd and 4th years. Depending on their advisor’s funds, students may also be supported as a Research Assistant in addition to, or as an alternative to, a Teaching Fellowship.
University of Liverpool, Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Liverpool, UK): Available to EU citizens only, the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology is a 3-year full-time programme fully funded by the National Health Service (NHS). Trainees are registered postgraduate students in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences and employed within Mersey Care NHS Trust.
University of Maryland, PhD in Psychology (College Park, MD): All admitted PhD students are given assistance in the form of a fellowship or graduate assistantship for the first 5 years, which includes tuition remission of up to 10 credits per semester.
New York University (NYU), PhD in Psychology (New York, NY): All admitted PhD students are guaranteed 5 years of funding (4 years for those with a Master’s degree). The award package typically includes a full tuition scholarship, comprehensive health insurance and a stipend.
Northwestern University, PhD in Psychology (Evanston, IL): All admitted PhD students receive full funding, including tuition and a stipend, for 5 academic years and 4 summers.
Rutgers University, PhD in Psychology (Piscataway, NJ): All admitted PhD students are guaranteed 5 years of funding (4 years for those with a Master’s degree), provided they remain in good standing. Financial aid covers tuition and includes a 10-month stipend or salary. Additional summer funding is available through teaching or grant funding.
University of Vermont, PhD in Psychology (Burlington, VT): The Department of Psychological Science attempts to fund all of its eligible full-time graduate students for at least 5 years, and has successfully since the inception of the PhD program in 1965.
Fordham University, PhD in Applied Developmental Psychology (New York, NY): Virtually all students in their doctoral program receive financial support throughout their graduate school career. Financial aid typically includes a full-tuition waiver and a work-related stipend. Assistantships can be research, teaching, administrative support, or some combination of these.
For application tips on applying to a PhD program, see How To Get Into a Fully Funded PhD Program: Contacting Potential PhD Advisors.
To learn about other opportunities to fund graduate, doctoral and postdoctoral studies, sign up to view our fellowships database, which lists more than 1300 funded fellowship programs.
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