Top Online Colleges Offering Psychology

Distance Education (D/E) is a great way for busy people to continue their education (online); in fact, many students say that D/E has prevented them from leaving their job and other activities just to pursue an educational goal.

Both online psychology courses and online psychology degree programs do exist. Psychology courses are normally not any harder done online than other course subjects as long as students do their readings and keep up with their assignments, etc. Furthermore, the amount of course material covered in a D/E psychology course is normally the same as one would receive in a classroom.

Follow these tips to help find top schools teaching psychology courses via distance education...

Tips

1. Check the accreditation of the school (National or Regionally Accredited)
2. Review the programs of the psychology degrees offered (Associates, Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorates, PhDs)
3. Check the tuition and fees (Is it costly or affordable? Does the school offer tuition assistance, financial aid, etc.?)
4. Review the school's admission requirements (GRE, ACT/SAT, etc.)
5. Review the course/degree program requirements (The amount of time, the number of courses, and total credits needed)

Note: The 5 tips should point prospective students to top online psychology schools. It's now up to the student to choose which school(s) has the best course(s) and degree program(s) as well as will meet their needs (and budget).

Here are some of the more popular universities for psychology (by public perception) offering distance education with their degree programs...

1) University of Phoenix

• AA - Psychology
• BS - Psychology
• MS - Psychology
• PhD - Industrial/Organizational Psychology

2) Argosy University

• BA - Psych - Substance Abuse, BA - Psych - Organizational Psychology, BA - Psychology

• MA - Industrial/Organizational Psychology, MA - Sport-Exercise Psychology, MA - Forensic Psychology

• DEd - Counsel Psychology

3) Capella University

• MS - Industrial/Organizational Psych, MS - School Psychology, MS - Leadership Coaching Psychology,

• MS - Sport Psychology, MS - Clinical Psychology, MS - General Psychology

• PhD - Educational Psychology, PhD - Industrial/Organizational Psych, PhD - General Psychology

4) Liberty University Online

• AA - Psychology
• BS - Psychology

* Note: Students are satisfied (as shown at GetEducated.com) with the Schools' online degree program.

5) Regent University

• AA - Psychology
• BS - Psychology

6) Saint Leo University

• BA - Psychology

7) South University

• BA - Psychology

8) Southern New Hampshire University

• BA - Psychology, BA - Psychology - Child & Adolescent Dev

9) University of Maryland University College Online (UMUC).

• BS - Psychology.

* The school has received the "Best Buy" stamp (as shown in the image to the right) for this online program.

10) UMassOnline

• BA - Psychology

Above are only ten among several other highly recognized universities. For those prospective students who are interested in one of the schools' degree programs, they should check with that school for more details (such as admission, tuition, requirements, etc.); otherwise, consider some of the reference links (at the end of the article) to help find the one right school and degree program in psychology.

Another top school and program in the spotlight is...

• Walden University with several online degree programs in Psychology. Not only does the school provide a quality education, the Walden learning experience offers a unique approach to distance education. For information about each degree, prospective students can access this site: http://www.waldenu.edu/Tuition-and-Financial-Aid/School-of-Psychology.htm.

Employment

"Employment of psychologists is expected to grow 12 percent from 2008 to 2018 ... [In the past] educational institutions employed about 29 percent of psychologists in positions other than teaching, such as counseling, testing, research, and administration. About 21 percent were employed in health care, primarily in offices of mental health practitioners, hospitals, physicians' offices, and outpatient mental health and substance abuse centers. Government agencies at the State and local levels employed psychologists in correctional facilities, law enforcement, and other settings." [1]

Salary and Career Options

As pointed out from the GetEducated.com Web site, "the American Psychological Association surveyed masters-level members in 2009 and found an average salary of just under $60,000 for psychologists." [2] For a more current median salary for people with jobs in psychology, consider checking out the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website. It will also provide students with psychology career options, such as for people wishing to do clinical work and counseling.

[1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) - Psychologists

[2] Get Educated, Vicky Phillips - Online Masters Psychology: Best Salaries, Careers and Jobs

Ranking of U.S. Undergraduate Psychology Programs: http://www.socialpsychology.org/gunder.htm

Psychology Colleges - Psychology Schools: http://www.allpsychologycareers.com/psychology-colleges.html

Careers in Psychology, Psychologist Jobs, and Career Information: http://www.careeroverview.com/psychology-careers.html

Image: Get Educated - Online Degrees in Psychology: Top Best Online Colleges - Affordability Rankings