2027 Edition
Entry to the ranking takes current APA accreditation and a start open to new students, and four PsyD programs in Virginia have both. James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia leads Virginia with 78.4 out of 100, 3rd among all ranked PsyD programs nationally.
By Trevor Rupe, Contributor at Savo Media Group
By APA area of accreditation, that is 3 clinical and 1 combined clinical and school programs. James Madison University is the one public university among them.
Virginia’s accreditation test tightens on June 23, 2028, when a doctorate from an APA-, CPA- or board-accepted accredited program in clinical, counseling or school psychology becomes the standard. BLS reports a median of $86,520 for clinical and counseling psychologists in Virginia (May 2025), against $100,580 nationwide.
All four ranked PsyD programs in Virginia, in order. The number on each card is its place in Virginia, and its national rank is beside the school.
Waived for every admitted student
Full profile of James Madison University in Best PsyD Programs
Sources: APA record, ASPPB, APPIC and the school’s APA disclosure, read October 12, 2026.
Ranks 2nd: it registers about 17 students a year in the APPIC internship match (the most in Virginia), and it publishes tuition of $37,765 for the first-year cohort.
Regent University's on-campus Psy.D. in Virginia Beach, Virginia, builds the integration of psychology and a Christian worldview into every course and a four-course sequence, within a fixed, full-time cohort progression whose first two years of training are on campus, often in its Psychological Services Center.
Regent's Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology educates students in a broad and general clinical practitioner-scholar model for careers in health service psychology and in the integration of psychology and a Christian worldview; its handbook describes integration objectives in each course and a four-course, 13-credit sequence covering topics such as a survey of Christianity, the psychology of religion and clinical integration. It is a fixed, full-time, five-year course of study of 116 credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree, taken in a cohort with classes year-round for four years (12 credit hours in each fall and spring term) and a full-time internship in the final year; many students extend their study to six years, and students should expect to relocate for the internship year. Clinical training in the first two years takes place on campus, often in the university's Psychological Services Center, and in the third and fourth years students are typically placed off campus in community settings. Students propose a dissertation in the spring of the third year, take the Comprehensive Examination at the end of that summer to enter doctoral candidacy, and finish with a 2,000-hour internship and the dissertation project.
Applicants need a B.A. or B.S. from a regionally accredited college or university; those whose degree is in a different discipline need at least 18 semester hours of psychology, every applicant needs at least three semester hours of statistics or research methods, and the minimum GPA is 3.0 for undergraduate work or 3.5 for master's-level work. Most enrolled students do not hold a master's degree, and students who complete 64 credit hours and the required practica series can receive a nested Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology. Admission is for the fall semester only, with a priority deadline of November 16, 2026, and a final deadline of January 4, 2027; two recommendations are required, one from a faculty member and one from clergy or a professional, and interviews are by invitation only, with virtual faculty interviews ahead of an on-campus Admissions Weekend in Virginia Beach, Virginia, usually in February. The school offers Psy.D.-specific scholarships, among them academic merit, community impact, first generation and Christian leadership awards, and teaching assistantships for students in their second year or beyond, whose application includes an agreement to the statement of faith. Regent says the degree is designed to fulfill the typical training program requirements for licensure as a psychologist in various U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions; licensure is granted by each jurisdiction's board.
Scored under methodology v2.0
Sources: APA record of Regent University (Clinical Psychology), ASPPB, APPIC and APA disclosure of Regent University (Clinical Psychology), read October 12, 2026.
Ranks 3rd: it retains 88% of the students who enter, but it publishes tuition of $44,585 for the first-year cohort (the highest in Virginia).
Divine Mercy University's in-person Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology follows a modified practitioner-scholar model and adds 12 credit hours of integrative studies in philosophy and theology, with clinical practice from a Catholic integrative perspective as one of its program goals.
The program adopts a modified version of the practitioner-scholar model, and its goals run from foundations in psychological science and research to clinical practice from a Catholic integrative perspective. Its 122 semester credit hours divide into 101 credit hours of psychology, 12 of integrative studies in philosophy and theology and at least 9 of dissertation research, designed for five years of full-time study: four years of academic coursework on campus and one year at a pre-doctoral internship site. Students begin clinical training at the Catholic University of America Counseling Center and continue in secular and nonsecular off-site settings, take comprehensive exams at the end of the third year, and complete 2,000 hours in an APPIC-member pre-doctoral internship. The dissertation, which must be successfully defended, can be a critical review and analysis of a topic in psychology or original theoretical or empirical research.
Applicants need an undergraduate degree, preferably in psychology, and students admitted without a psychology degree complete prerequisite courses in their first year; GRE scores are required of all applicants, and the in-person group interview takes place on the university's campus in Sterling, Virginia. The school describes the Psy.D. as an on-site, in-person program, and students must be enrolled full time throughout. Merit scholarships are offered to a limited number of incoming students. The school says the 122 semester credit hour program is designed to meet the educational requirements for licensure in all U.S. states and territories and the provinces of Canada; licensure itself is granted by each jurisdiction's psychology board.
Scored under methodology v2.0
Sources: APA record of Divine Mercy University (Clinical Psychology), ASPPB, APPIC and APA disclosure of Divine Mercy University (Clinical Psychology), read October 14, 2026.
19.0
Ranks 4th: it registers about 12 students a year in the APPIC internship match, but it retains 74% of the students who enter (the lowest in Virginia).
Liberty University's residential Psy.D. in Lynchburg, Virginia, integrates clinical training with a Christian worldview, awards a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology about halfway through, and ends with a 2,000-hour internship in the fifth year.
Liberty's Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.), offered through its Center for Professional and Clinical Psychology, is a full-time, residential program of 126 credit hours that integrates science, practice and the Christian faith; alongside training in psychological testing and assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning, evidence-based psychotherapy, and supervision and consultation, the course list includes Applied Theology for Clinical Psychologists (PSYD 755). The degree completion plan runs five years, four academic and practicum years and a final internship year, and students are awarded an M.A. in Clinical Psychology about halfway through. Most students begin clinical work in their second year, with at least 15 hours a week of clinical activities in the fall and spring semesters and 20 hours a week on site over the following two years, at sites in and around Lynchburg, VA, that include outpatient clinics, partial hospitalization and acute psychiatric units for adults and children, and residential addiction programs. The program provides a minimum of 1,200 hours of supervised practicum, and every student completes a quantitative research-based dissertation and a one-year, 2,000-hour internship.
Applicants need a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a GPA of at least 3.0, at least 18 semester hours of psychology in set areas (finished before the second semester of the program), three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose of 500 to 700 words and a faculty interview. The GRE is not required, though applicants are strongly encouraged to take it. Up to 39 credit hours may transfer in, the degree must be completed within seven years, and the handbook expects students to live within one hour of the university. Liberty's graduate assistantships, in academic or administrative support roles, carry a tuition scholarship equivalent to a full-time course load for the students selected. Liberty says the program prepares students for state licensure as a clinical psychologist; licensure itself is granted by each state's psychology board.
Scored under methodology v2.0
Sources: APA record of Liberty University (Clinical Psychology), APPIC and APA disclosure of Liberty University (Clinical Psychology), read October 14, 2026.
The figures below come from the four PsyD programs in Virginia that this ranking includes, each read from the source named beside it.
4
APA-accredited PsyD programs ranked in Virginia
APA directory79%
Median first-time EPPP pass rate across 3 programs
ASPPB87%
Median accredited internship match rate across 4 programs
APPIC$38,683
Median yearly tuition across 4 programs
Program disclosuresAcross the three programs with a published first-time EPPP pass rate, results run from 62% to 91%, with a median of 79%. ASPPB reports 75% for all accredited doctoral programs.
The four programs with at least 10 APPIC registrations from 2021 to 2025 matched 0% to 96% of their registered applicants with APA- or CPA-accredited internships, with a median of 87%.
Four programs list a yearly tuition, from $0 to $44,585, with a median of $38,683. Each figure is the full-time yearly tuition in the program’s own cost table. James Madison University lists $0 because it waives tuition for every admitted student.
ASPPB adds its own caution: “Please note that care should be exercised if comparisons across schools and programs are made.”
A PsyD is a degree, and the license comes from the state. These are the rules a graduate of PsyD programs in Virginia meets for a license there, each linked to the page it was read on.
Licensing board: Virginia Board of Psychology.
BLS counts 2,140 clinical and counseling psychologists in Virginia, with a median annual wage of $86,520. School psychologists number 1,200 at a median of $85,670.
$86,520
Median annual pay for clinical and counseling psychologists in Virginia
Occupation: Clinical and Counseling Psychologists, SOC 19-3033.BLS counts 2,140 employed in Virginia.
$85,670
Median annual pay for school psychologists in Virginia
Occupation: School Psychologists, SOC 19-3034.BLS counts 1,200 employed in Virginia.
Percentiles are points in each occupation’s pay distribution, not experience levels. BLS lists an area in every state its counties reach, so a metropolitan area that crosses a state line appears under each state.
APA lists this program in Virginia, and it is not ranked. The statement is quoted below with the page it was read on.
APA lists this program as inactive: it is not admitting students.
Accredited - Inactive
Read October 12, 2026 on the APA record for Radford University
The program is closing and has admitted its final cohort of students.
Read October 13, 2026 on the Radford University program page
In the 2027 ranking, James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia is first among the PsyD programs in Virginia, with a score of 78.4 out of 100 and 3rd place nationally. Its program page is James Madison University’s Psy.D. doctoral program in Clinical and School Psychology. The score weighs cost, graduate earnings, completion, internship and licensure outcomes, track record, credential alignment and program reputation, and the methodology page shows each weight.
Four ranked programs in Virginia list a yearly tuition, from $0 to $44,585, with a median of $38,683. Each figure is the full-time yearly tuition in the program’s own cost table. James Madison University lists $0 because it waives tuition for every admitted student. A program card labels its tuition figure with the period and rate its school printed, and Read More lists the in-state and out-of-state prices where the cost table gives both.
Not before June 23, 2028. Until then, 18VAC125-20-54 also lets an applicant qualify with a professional psychology doctorate that meets the board’s criteria. From that date the doctorate must come from a program accredited by APA, CPA or an accreditor the board accepts.
Virginia asks for a residency of at least 1,500 hours, over 12 months to three years, on top of an internship in a program accredited by APA or CPA, an APPIC or ASPPB and National Register member, or one meeting equivalent standards. Doctoral practicum can cover all or part of the residency, and internship hours cannot.
EPPP Part 1 (Knowledge), according to the board’s examination information page. A candidate must pass the final required step within two years before licensure.
BLS reports a median annual wage of $86,520 for clinical and counseling psychologists (SOC 19-3033) in Virginia for May 2025. The 10th percentile is $41,990 and the 90th is $176,080. School psychologists (SOC 19-3034) have a median of $85,670. Percentiles mark points in the pay distribution of everyone in the occupation, not years of experience.