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Clinical psychiatrist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a clinical psychiatrist. Clinical psychiatrists usually study nursing, psychology, or dance. 31% of clinical psychiatrists hold a master's degree, and 25% hold an bachelor's degree. We analyzed 23 real clinical psychiatrist resumes to see exactly what clinical psychiatrist education sections show.

The most common colleges for clinical psychiatrists are the Howard University and the Howard University.

There are also many online clinical psychiatrist courses to help get the education required to be a clinical psychiatrist.

What education do you need to become a clinical psychiatrist?

What degree do you need to be a clinical psychiatrist?

The most common degree for clinical psychiatrists is master's degree, with 31% of clinical psychiatrists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 25% and bachelor's degree degree at 19%.
  • Master's, 31%
  • Bachelor's, 25%
  • Doctorate, 19%
  • Associate, 6%
  • Other Degrees, 19%

What should I major in to become a clinical psychiatrist?

You should major in nursing to become a clinical psychiatrist. 14% of clinical psychiatrists major in nursing. Other common majors for a clinical psychiatrist include psychology and dance.

Most common colleges for clinical psychiatrists

Clinical psychiatrists often get their degrees at Howard University, New York University, and Wayne State University. Here are the most common colleges for clinical psychiatrists in the US based on their resumes.
Clinical psychiatrist common collegePercentages
Howard University11.11%
New York University11.11%
Wayne State University11.11%
Texas A&M University11.11%
University of North Carolina at Charlotte11.11%

Best majors for clinical psychiatrists

RankMajorPercentages
1Nursing14.3%
2Psychology14.3%
3Dance7.1%
4Public Health7.1%
5Counseling Psychology7.1%

Best colleges for clinical psychiatrists

The best colleges for clinical psychiatrists are Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University.

A clinical psychiatrist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for clinical psychiatrists. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become clinical psychiatrists.

1. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$59,430

Enrollment

8,216

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

5. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

6. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

8. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

10. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

20 best online courses for clinical psychiatrists

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1. Health for All Through Primary Health Care

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This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...

2. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care

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This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...

3. Addiction & Mental Health (Dual Diagnosis) Integrative 12hrs

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Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions: Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health - Integrative Holistic Approach...

4. Providing Trauma-Informed Care

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4.7
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Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...

5. Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation

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Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing. Are you interested in clinical kidney, pancreas...

6. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers

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This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...

7. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health

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Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...

8. Certificate Course in Clinical Research (CCCR)

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A Clinical Research Course-ICH-GCP E6(R2), Clinical Trials, Essential Documents, Sponsor, Investigator, Pharmaceuticals...

9. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

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COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...

10. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale

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Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...

11. Addiction & Mental Health - Chemically Speaking Two (2hrs)

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Substance Abuse & Mental Health Interventions - Understand Drug & Alcohol Addiction & Mental Health. How to help people...

12. Good Clinical Practice ICH GCP for Clinical Research

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Certification on ICH GCP E6 R2 Good Clinical Practice for Clinical Research The Only Complete Course You Can Find Online...

13. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

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Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...

14. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course

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The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...

15. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations

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Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...

16. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities

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A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...

17. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

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Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...

18. Trauma Emergencies and Care

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Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...

19. HI-FIVE: Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment (Clinical Perspective)

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HI-FIVE (Health Informatics For Innovation, Value & Enrichment) Training is a 12-hour online course designed by Columbia University in 2016, with sponsorship from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The training is role-based and uses case scenarios. Also, it has additional, optional modules on other topics of interest or relevance. Although we suggest to complete the course within a month's timeframe, the course is self-paced and so you can start and...

20. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care

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In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...

Top 10 most affordable universities for clinical psychiatrists

The most affordable schools for clinical psychiatrists are University of Florida, hunter college of the city university of new york, and california state university - long beach.

If the best universities for clinical psychiatrists are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for clinical psychiatrists.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

4. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

5. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

6. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

7. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

8. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

9. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

10. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for clinical psychiatrists

The hardest universities for clinical psychiatrists to get into are Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for clinical psychiatrists are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for clinical psychiatrists based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

6%

SAT average

1,512

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

7. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

8. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

10. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for clinical psychiatrists

The easiest schools for clinical psychiatrists to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, barry university, and notre dame de namur university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a clinical psychiatrist without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for clinical psychiatrists.

1. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

2. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

3. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

4. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

5. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

6. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

7. College of New Rochelle, The

New Rochelle, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

982

8. The University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,035

9. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

10. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

Average clinical psychiatrist salary by education level

Clinical psychiatrist education levelClinical psychiatrist salary
Doctorate Degree$242,208

Clinical psychiatrist education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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