Maryland is one of the smallest, and most densely populated states in the country, with only a little more than half the square miles as neighboring West Virginia and three times the population. It also abuts the bustling D.C. metropolitan area, which helps account for the relatively high number of psychology students, psychology programs, and practicing psychologist in the state.
- A national survey of academic programs in during the 2011-2012 academic year by the National Center for Education Statistics, counted 295 master’s degree candidates in psychology in the state of Maryland, which ranked 21st among the 50 states.
- Maryland ranked slightly higher for undergraduates in psychology programs, with 2,118 students finishing up psychology majors in 2012. That put Maryland at 17th nationally.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2015 Occupational Employment Statistics counted exactly 1,800 clinical, counseling, and school psychologists across the state of Maryland.
- The average annual salary for those psychologists was $74,430, which is right in line with the national average of $76,040. And, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metropolitan division, which includes parts of D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, was one of the areas with the highest employment levels for psychologists nationally. The average annual salary in that area was $88,730.
Region | Career | Total Employment | MeanAnnualWage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury, MD-DE | Marriage and Family Therapists | 90 | $48,620 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | Psychologists, All Other | 250 | $109,890 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | Marriage and Family Therapists | 700 | $51,290 |
| Salisbury, MD-DE | Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists | 140 | $77,300 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists | 1150 | $81,880 |
2019 Occupational Employment Statistics and 2018-28 Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS.gov.
In the state of Maryland, there are four universities with six different doctoral programs in psychology that have been granted full accreditation by the American Psychological Association. In addition, four psychology schools in Maryland have graduate programs in psychology that are approved by the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, and there are three with programs that are recognized by the National Association of School Psychologists.
Maryland psychology licensing requirements
In Maryland, all psychologists must be licensed by the state in order to practice professional in the state. This is overseen by a Board of Examiners of Psychologists, which is part of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The requirements for licensure are outlined below:
- Earn a doctoral degree in psychology from an accredited school or program in psychology
- Complete 3,000 hours, or two years of supervised work experience, half of which can be part of a doctoral degree internship, the rest of which must be done post-doctorally
- Earn a passing score on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology
- Pass a criminal background check
Professional psychologists who practice in the state of Maryland are required to renew their licenses every two years. In order to do so, they must be able to demonstrate that they have completed 40 hours of continuing education through workshops, seminars, courses, and other approved means.
Featured psychology schools in Maryland
According to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, the following five psychology programs reside in psychology colleges in Maryland:
Johns Hopkins University
An elite, science-oriented, private university that is thought to be the first real research institute in the US, Johns Hopkins has two distinct undergraduate divisions — the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering — as well as several top-ranked graduate schools. These include a medical school, a nursing school, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health in East Baltimore. The Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences is part of the Krieger School, and its located in Baltimore’s Charles Village neighborhood. Along with a strong undergraduate major in psychology, the psychology department at Johns Hopkins supports doctoral research and training in two large areas. The biopsychology concentration includes animal cognition, neurocognitive aging, auditory perception and communication, brain mechanisms of memory, behavioral neuroscience, and hormones and behavior. The cognitive and developmental psychology concentration centers around cognitive and perceptual development, language and memory development, visual perception and psychophysics, and age-related neurocognitive disorders. The School of Education at Johns Hopkins also offers master’s degrees in various types of counseling.
- Department: Johns Hopkins University Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and School of Education
- Location: Baltimore, Maryland
- Online options: Johns Hopkins does offer online degree programs, but not in the field of psychology
University of Maryland, College Park
The flagship campus of the University System of Maryland, UMD, or just College Park, as it’s often called, is located in the town of College Park, just a little under five miles from Washington DC. It boasts a number of prestigious graduate schools and programs, including the Robert H. Smith School of Business, the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, and the A. James Clark School of Engineering. The university’s Department of Psychology draws on the considerable resources of a large School of Behavioral and Social Sciences. In addition to an undergraduate major, it features two master’s degree options: an MPS in clinical psychological science, and an MPS in industrial-organizational science. The doctoral program is organized along tracks: clinical psychology; cognitive and neural systems; counseling psychology; developmental psychology; and social, decision, and organizational science. In addition, the College of Education at College Park offers master’s and doctoral degrees in school psychology and school counseling.
- Department: University of Maryland, College Park Department of Psychology and College of Education
- Location: College Park, Maryland
- Online options: College Park’s Office of Extended Studies offers a range of online course options, but no degree programs in psychology
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
A health and science research institution funded and run by the federal government, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, or USU, is primarily geared toward serving the US Medical Corps. It has a research hospital and medical school, as well as a dental college and a graduate nursing school. In addition, there are graduate programs run through the USU School of Medicine that are open to civilian students, including a highly rated Ph.D. program in psychology. Doctoral students can choose from a concentration in clinical psychology or medical psychology.
- Department: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Medical and Clinical Psychology
- Location: Bethesda, Maryland
- Online options: USU does not offer online degrees
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County is a public research university that is located in Baltimore County, not the city of Baltimore. In fact, the university’s main campus is in Catonsville, which is ten minutes from downtown Baltimore and a little over a half an hour from Washington DC. The Department of Psychology at UMBC offers undergraduates the choice of a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science in psychology. Graduate students can choose from two master’s degree options, in applied behavioral analysis or industrial-organizational psychology. And there are two doctoral tracks: applied developmental psychology, and human services psychology.
- Department: University of Maryland, Baltimore County Department of Psychology
- Location: Catonsville, Maryland
- Online options: UMBC does offer online master’s and certificate programs, but not in the field of psychology
Loyola University Maryland
With a main campus in Baltimore, and additional graduate school locations in Timonium and Columbia, this large, private Jesuit research university can draw on the resources of a large Clinical Center that serves the surrounding community. In addition to a psychology major for undergraduates, the Department of Psychology at Loyola offers a five-year accelerated combined BA/MS option in clinical or counseling psychology. There are also two master’s of science options for graduate students: a clinical/counseling psychology practitioner track; and a clinical/counseling psychology thesis track. Master’s students in psychology can also pursue a certificate of advanced study in psychology. At the doctoral level, Loyola’s psychology department confers Ph.D.s in clinical psychology.
- Department: Loyola University Maryland Department of Psychology
- Location: Baltimore, Maryland
- Online options: Loyola University Maryland does not offer online degrees in psychology