20 Best Psychology Grad Programs In Portland, OR (2023 Updated) – Save Our Schools March
Here is my 2000+ word blog post on the 20 Best Psychology Grad Programs In Portland, OR (2023 Updated):
Introduction
Portland, Oregon is home to numerous prestigious psychology graduate programs that prepare students for impactful careers in mental health, research, academics, and more. With a vibrant culture focused on wellness and personal growth, Portland offers an ideal environment for pursuing a psychology education.
In this blog post, I will provide insightful overviews of the top 20 psychology graduate programs in Portland, highlighting key strengths, specializations, philosophies, and other distinguishing factors that set these programs apart. My analysis aims to help prospective students identify the best program aligned with their academic interests and career aspirations.
While rankings offer a starting point, finding the right fit requires a deeper dive into each program‘s curriculum, research opportunities, clinical training, faculty expertise, campus culture, career support, and other elements integral to a meaningful educational journey. This blog post moves beyond superficial rankings to provide current and future psychology graduate students with the nuanced insights they need to make an informed decision.
Overview of Key Factors in Choosing a Psychology Graduate Program
When researching psychology graduate programs, some key factors to consider include:
- Specializations – Clinical, counseling, developmental, social, cognitive, organizational etc. Identify areas of interest.
- Research Opportunities – Access to labs, fieldwork, faculty projects etc. Important for PhD plans.
- Clinical Training – External practicum placements, community clinics, counseling centers etc. Vital for therapy careers.
- Faculty – Research interests, clinical expertise, mentoring approach, professional networks etc. Influences learning experience.
- Funding & Aid – Availability of teaching and research assistantships, scholarships, grants, financial aid programs etc. Impacts affordability.
- Career Support – Internship and job search help, network building opportunities, career counseling services etc. Useful for long-term success.
- Campus Culture & Location – Small college vibe, commuter-friendly, vibrant city etc. Shapes student life experience.
Now let’s explore the top psychology graduate programs in Portland!
- Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling
Overview:
Lewis & Clark offers master’s and doctoral programs in counseling psychology and school psychology, integrating scholarly and clinical training through a scientist-practitioner lens.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Clinical mental health counseling, school counseling, school psychology
- Over 15 specialization certificate options
- Strong reputation built over past 50+ years
- Practicum placements at on-campus community counseling center
- Small cohort model emphasizes community
- Located on 137 wooded acres in suburban southwest Portland
The Verdict:
For those seeking rigorous clinical preparation coupled with tight-knit peer support, Lewis & Clark hits the mark with ACCREDITED programs, excellent training facilities, and a legacy of counseling psychology excellence.
- Pacific University School of Graduate Psychology
Overview:
Pacific focuses exclusively on graduate psychology education through practitioner-based training in clinical practice and community health.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Clinical health psychology, behavioral neuroscience, forensic psychology
- Consortium model allows students to access resources at 3 local universities
- Clinical training facility on Portland Health & Science University campus
- Optional rural psychology and telehealth tracks
- Rotations at health clinics, correctional facilities, specialty courts
- Located on 190-acre forested campus in Hillsboro suburb
The Verdict:
Pacific offers unmatched REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE through community health partnerships – perfect for nurturing socially conscious psychology & counseling professionals.
- Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Overview:
OHSU psychiatry drives innovation in mental healthcare through groundbreaking research, pioneering community outreach programs, and advancing public policy around addiction and recovery sciences.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Addiction psychiatry, child & adolescent psychiatry, community mental health
- Internationally recognized research centers and institutes
- Opportunity to collaborate with medical students and doctors
- Rotations at OHSU specialty clinics and Portland-area hospitals
- Extensive catalog of dual degree options
- Based at main OHSU campus atop Portland’s Marquam Hill
The Verdict:
For RESEARCH-ORIENTED graduate students interested in exploring the overlap of psychology, neuroscience, and medicine, OHSU offers unparalleled INCUBATION opportunities.
- Portland State University Graduate School of Education: Counselor Education
Overview:
PSU’s counselor education program adopts a social justice lens to prepare counseling professionals who advocate for community health equity and underserved populations.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Clinical mental health counseling, rehabilitation counseling, school counseling
- Certificate options tailored for specialty careers
- PRACTICE-ORIENTED curriculum focused on critical issues
- Faculty widely published on multiculturalism and advocacy
- Partnerships serving homeless, veterans, trafficking victims
- Downtown Portland campus near vibrant arts and food scene
The Verdict:
Driven by a MISSION TO EMPOWER, PSU welcomes graduate students eager to promote positive systemic change through counseling.
- George Fox University Graduate School of Counseling
Overview:
The CACREP-accredited counseling program at George Fox integrates faith and social purpose with comprehensive training in clinical techniques and practical skills.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: School counseling, trauma counseling, addiction studies
- Play therapy and suicide prevention certificates available
- Faith-based worldview focused on community service
- Faculty include licensed counselors and pastors
- Practicum at on-campus clinics and local community partners
- Newberg campus has a close-knit, collegiate feel
The Verdict:
For students seeking a SUPPORTIVE CHRISTIAN ENVIRONMENT grounded in both spiritual growth and counseling competence, George Fox delivers.
- Northwest Christian University Graduate Counseling Program
Overview:
The small but MIGHTY counseling program at Northwest Christian combines biblical wisdom with evidence-based counseling tools to nurture clinicians focused on restoration and redemption.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Trauma therapy, life coaching, addiction recovery
- Nationally-ranked School of Ministry helps inform counseling
- Faculty active in clinical practice and ministry leadership
- Alignment with Christian paradigm of personhood
- Practicum placements at local churches and ministries
- Suburban campus near wineries and outdoor recreation
The Verdict:
FAITH AND HEALING take center stage at Northwest Christian – ideal for students exploring the intersection of Christian theology and mental health.
- Concordia University-Portland Counseling Program
Overview:
Concordia Portland counseling unifies academic excellence, clinical competence, and community service through a socially conscious lens reflecting the school’s Lutheran heritage.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Child & family therapy, trauma counseling
- Play therapy and sand tray therapy certificate options
- Faculty possess broad COUNSELING EXPERTISE
- Multicultural counseling and advocacy focus
- Practicums serving refugees, veterans, homeless youth
- Forested Portland campus with strong sense of community
The Verdict:
The Concordia Portland counseling program DELIVERS ON DIVERSITY by training culturally responsive clinicians invested in social justice.
- Warner Pacific University Master of Arts in Human Services
Overview:
Warner Pacific human services equip mid-career professionals and career-changers to tackle mental health challenges through ethical, trauma-informed community practice.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Trauma care, counseling senior adults
- Accelerated 20-month program meets nights and weekends
- Curriculum aligned with CSHSE national standards
- Faculty seasoned HUMAN SERVICES VETERANS
- 200+ hour internship focused on advocacy
- Historic campus near Portland’s iconic Mt. Tabor
The Verdict:
With convenience and relevance at the forefront, Warner Pacific focuses squarely on DEVELOPING HIGH-CALIBER human services professionals.
- Reed College Psychology Graduate Programs
Overview:
Reed College psychology explores the historical, philosophical, and biological facets shaping human thought and behavior through an interdisciplinary liberal arts orientation.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology
- Opportunity to craft CUSTOMIZED COURSE OF STUDY
- Iconoclastic school culture values independence
- Faculty drawn from multiple academic divisions
- Discussion-based classes capped at 14 students
- Pacific Northwest motif campus houses 1,400 undergraduates
The Verdict:
Intellectually adventurous and self-directed students thrive in Reed’s TIGHT-KNIT, ESOTERIC psychology graduate environment.
- Multnomah University Master of Arts in Counseling
Overview:
Multnomah counseling trains students in the art and science of human wholeness from a Christian worldview while developing cultural intelligence for serving diverse communities.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Trauma counseling, marriage/family therapy
- Integrates FAITH AND PRACTICE seamlessly
- Interdisciplinary approach addressing MIND/BODY/SPIRIT
- Faculty mentorship nurtures leadership skills
- Community ministry placements central to training
- Suburban campus houses tight-knit student community
The Verdict:
Blending COMPASSION AND WISDOM with redemption and renewal, Multnomah stretches students for CHRISTIAN COUNSELING IMPACT.
- Marylhurst University MA in Counseling Psychology
Overview:
Marylhurst counseling psychology navigates the complex intersections between spirituality, creativity, ecology and mental health through a social justice imperative.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Art therapy, spiritually oriented
- Certificate options in ecopsychology and expressive arts
- Interdisciplinary, liberal arts framework
- Faculty noted for SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTIONS
- Fosters community engagement and activism
- Historic campus located between Lake Oswego and West Linn
The Verdict:
Marylhurst BROADENS THE PARADIGM nurturing unconventional healers attuned to the INSEPARABLE BOND BETWEEN HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL WELLNESS.
- Lewis & Clark College Graduate School Counseling-Art Therapy Program
Overview:
Integrating visual arts-based modalities into counseling, Lewis & Clark art therapy helps students harness the transcendent power of creativity for healing.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Mental health counseling, art therapy
- Dual track meets BOARD CERTIFICATION eligibility
- Expert faculty active in publications and presentations
- Specialty courses augment counseling core
- Field placements at museums, schools, hospitals
- Shares campus with top-ranked counseling program
The Verdict:
Lewis & Clark cement their standing as DOMAIN EXPERTS in art therapy education – a specialized niche filled with boundless OPPORTUNITY.
- Antioch University Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology
Overview:
Blending academic rigor, critical reflection, and courageous practice, Antioch University’s progressive counseling psychology program trains agents of social change.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Sex therapy, eco-therapy, trauma certificate
- Framework intersects SOCIAL JUSTICE AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
- Courses probe ASSUMPTIONS IN THE FIELD
- Mastery of political dynamics facilitating systemic change
- Practicum placements focused on advocacy and activism
- Sleek, modern campus near hip N. Portland arts scene
The Verdict:
INNOVATIVE CURRICULUM directly confronting OPPRESSION AND INEQUALITY empowers Antioch graduates to TRANSFORM COUNSELING – and community mental healthcare.
- Portland Seminary Counseling & Therapy Programs
Overview:
Creatively bridging Christian faith and clinical practice, George Fox’s counseling and therapy programs envision healing professionals fluent in the languages of spirituality and psychology.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Spiritual integration, biblical studies
- Options in COUNSELING OR MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPY
- Doctrine shapes therapeutic approach amid DIVINE ENCOUNTER
- Faculty mentor spiritual formation along with clinical skills
- Ministry-focused internships guide graduates to CHURCH-BASED CAREERS
- Housed on George Fox University’s Newberg campus
The Verdict:
FOREFRONTING FAITH AND CLINICAL EXCELLENCE with equal intensity, Portland Seminary prepares graduates for MAXIMUM IMPACT at the FRONTIER OF BIBLICALLY BASED MENTAL HEALTHCARE.
- Corban University Master of Arts in Counseling
Overview:
Training compassionate Christian counselors committed to human flourishing, Corban counseling integrates biblical truths into therapeutic interventions while developing cultural competence.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Child & family therapy, general counseling
- Approach aligns with CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW on human nature
- Counseling viewed as VOCATIONAL CALLING
- Faculty active in research and scholarship
- Service-learning requirement develops social conscience
- Rural campus near state capitol of Salem
The Verdict:
Corban University counseling brings together SOUND DOCTRINE AND CLINICAL SKILLS to nurture graduates embracing counseling as an act of CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.
- University of Western States Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Overview:
Blending science and practice, UWS clinical mental health counseling produces skilled psychotherapists able to translate evidence-based techniques into positive health outcomes.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Integrated health, sports psychology
- Optional specializations including sports psychology
- Interprofessional campus stimulates COLLABORATION
- Faculty possess INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPERTISE
- 500-hour supervised clinical placement
- Modern campus houses multiple healthcare programs
The Verdict:
With the WHOLE PERSON IN MIND, UWS clinical mental health graduates enter the field UNIQUELY SENSITIZED TO THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION driving health and healing.
- Eastern Oregon University Applied Psychological Science
Overview:
Delivering an affordable, flexible psychology education, Eastern Oregon University empowers working professionals ready to level up through its online applied psychology program.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: NONE, broad foundation
- Course schedule ACCOMMODATES WORKING ADULTS
- Faculty teaching aligns with PROGRAM COMPETENCIES
- Practical training applications woven throughout
- Optional in-person seminars and networking events
- Main campus located in rural city of La Grande
The Verdict:
Eastern Oregon University breaks down barriers for CAREER-CHASING PROFESSIONALS seeking an accessible ON-RAMP into the psychology field.
- Northwest University Marriage and Family Therapy Program
Overview:
Training skilled systems-level therapists, NWU marriage and family therapy navigates the intricacies of relationships while developing strength-based agents of individual and communal transformation.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Child & family therapy
- Christian worldview exploring spiritual dynamics
- Systemic assessment and intervention
- Faculty leaders in INTEGRATION MOVEMENT
- 500 supervised clinical hours + ministry option
- Suburban Seattle campus, online courses available
The Verdict:
Tackling the OVERLOOKED REALM OF RELATIONAL BROKENNESS plaguing so many, NWU marriage and family therapy alumni walk the TIGHTROPE BETWEEN HEALING HUMAN BONDS AND MENDING SPIRITUAL ONES.
- Walla Walla University School of Social Work & Sociology
Overview:
Training social workers embedded in Adventist systems, Walla Walla social work combines spiritual insight, clinical competence and a commitment to building thriving communities.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Clinical social work, addiction treatment
- FAITH-BASED ETHOS permeating all areas
- Faculty well-published in faith integration
- 400+ clinical hours required for licensing eligibility
- Partnerships with Adventist healthcare networks
- Rural campus inspires connection with nature
The Verdict:
Set apart by a DISTINCT SPIRITUAL HERITAGE helping shape its clinical landscape, Walla Walla prepares graduates to meet SOUL-LEVEL NEEDS within a marginalized, under-resourced and exploited population too often betrayed by institutionalized medicine.
- Northwest Christian University Helping and Counseling Graduate Certificate
Overview:
Designed as continuing education for working professionals, the NCU helping and counseling certificate fortifies existing competencies around trauma-informed care and addiction counseling through a Christian lens unpacking Godly sorrow, repentance, redemption and relational restoration.
Key Highlights:
- Specializations: Ministerial counseling
- Ability to transfer credits into counseling program
- Faculty active in scholarship and publishing
- Coursework aligns biblical truth with best practices
- Professional DEVELOPMENT focus
- Eugene campus houses robust ministry programs
The Verdict:
NCU’s HELPING AND COUNSELING CERTIFICATE allows ministry leaders, clinicians and social workers to REFRESH AND REFOCUS their spiritual and professional CALLINGS to service – injecting newfound energy, empathy and purpose for the LONG HAUL.
Conclusion
In Portland’s rich landscape of graduate psychology programs, prospective students are sure to find their perfect fit! From faith-based counseling grounded in biblical truth and ministerial practice to unorthodox art therapy modalities questioning conventions – not to mention prestigious PhD pathways positioned at the intersection of neuroscience and psychiatry – this comprehensive guide illuminates the DEPTH AND BREADTH of local options available.
By moving beyond superficial rankings to highlight KEY DISTINCTIONS, SPECIALIZATIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES characterizing Portland’s top psychology graduate programs, my insights equip current and future students to discover optimal alignments between their own values, interests and aspirations and the transformational opportunities around them.
