Online Psychology Bachelors Degree

Psychology is among the most widely offered fully online bachelors degrees, and one of the most misunderstood. The degree is a broad social science credential, not a license to practice, and the schools that offer it online range from state university systems to the largest private online institutions in the country.

This page covers what the degree usually contains, what to verify before enrolling, and which primarily online institutions actually award it, from federal completions data. Every school shown reports the program as offered via distance education and awarded bachelors degrees in psychology in 2022-23. The bachelors by major hub covers the other majors, and the choosing an online college guide covers the decision in general.

Online colleges awarding psychology bachelors degrees

65 primarily online four-year institutions in the federal dataset (at least half of undergraduates enrolled exclusively online) report a psychology bachelors program offered via distance education and awarded bachelors degrees in the field in 2022-23. The 8 with the most completions are shown, in order of completions.

Editorial comparison, not a sponsored listing; sponsored listings on this site appear in labeled widgets (see our advertising disclosure). CollegeNPC.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by any institution shown. Completions are first-major bachelors awards reported to IPEDS for 2022-23; a program's current availability, format, and admission requirements should be confirmed with the school. Price figures are federal reporting and vary by student, program, and year.

What an online psychology bachelors degree usually covers

Bachelors programs in psychology usually cover research methods and statistics, developmental, social, cognitive, and abnormal psychology, and biological bases of behavior, with electives in areas such as industrial-organizational or forensic psychology. Most programs are a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science; the BS typically carries more research and quantitative coursework.

Curriculum varies by institution, and course titles vary more than content does. Compare the published degree plans of two or three programs side by side rather than relying on the concentration names.

Accreditation and what to verify

Institutional accreditation is what matters for a bachelors in psychology; the American Psychological Association accredits doctoral programs, not undergraduate ones. Practicing as a psychologist requires graduate study and state licensure, and licensed counseling roles require a masters at minimum. If graduate school is the plan, ask how the program’s graduates have fared in admissions and whether faculty supervise undergraduate research.

Institutional accreditation is verified in the U.S. Department of Education’s DAPIP database, not on the school’s site; the accreditation guide walks through it in two minutes.

Delivery format

Psychology is delivered fully online at most institutions offering it; a research methods sequence with a capstone is standard, and some programs add a supervised field experience that must be arranged locally.

The share of undergraduates enrolled exclusively online, shown on each card above from federal reporting, tells you whether the institution is built around distance students or runs online programs alongside a campus. Both can work; the working adults guide covers the format questions that predict whether adults finish.

Comparing programs on the numbers

Completions tell you which institutions award the degree at scale. They do not tell you what it will cost you or whether students finish. Each school’s page on this site shows average net price, net price by income bracket, completion rate, and median debt from federal reporting, and the comparison tool puts two schools side by side. Transfer credit is the largest lever on the length of any bachelors degree; the transfer credit guide covers how to get a written evaluation before enrolling.

Next steps

1. Confirm the program is delivered fully online, including any practicum, and note any in-person components.
2. Verify institutional accreditation in the DAPIP database and any programmatic accreditation or state approval your goal requires.
3. Get a written transfer credit evaluation from two or three candidates.
4. Compare finalists on net price and completion rate using their school pages here.

Data on this page: U.S. Department of Education IPEDS published charges (2023-24) and average net price (2022-23), and College Scorecard outcomes, retrieved 2026-08-13. Every figure renders from the site data pipeline; definitions, survey years, and refresh cadence are on the methodology page.