2021 ratings: The best universities for psychology
Psychologists study human behaviour and the processes associated with how people think and feel, conduct research and provide treatment and counselling in order to reduce distress and behavioural and psychological problems. They promote mental health and positive behaviour in individuals and groups.
While the common focus of psychologists was previously on helping individuals to overcome problems — which might range in severity from the common difficulties associated with making life decisions through to mental illness — the field of psychology is now much broader. Psychologists work on a broad range of issues with clients, including children, adults, couples, families and organisations.
There are over 230 undergraduate degrees in psychology listed on our course search, and over 160 postgraduate courses. We looked at which universities performed best in overall experience, full-time employment and learner engagement.
This rating looks at the proportion of students who were satisfied with the overall quality of their educational experience. The top-ranked university in this category is Western Australia’s Murdoch University with 89.6% overall satisfaction rate, and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is right behind with a scored 89.5%.
This rating compares the employment rates of graduates from different universities. It looks at the proportion of graduates who were employed full time four months after completing their course. Charles Sturt University placed highest with an employment rate of 74.5%, followed very closely by Macquarie University, where the employment rate is 74.3%.
This rating looks at the proportion of students who felt they were engaged with learning at their institution. It is based on the extent to which students felt prepared for study, had a sense of belonging at their institution, participated in discussions online or face to face, worked with other students, interacted with students outside of study and interacted with students different to them (including local students for international respondents). First place goes to the Gold Coast’s Bond University with an 75% engagement rate, followed by The University of Notre Dame, which scored 73.3%.
View all 2021 rankings for psychology by The Good Universities Guide — filter by state and study level to view both undergraduate and postgraduate ratings.
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