By: Kendall Upton
Updated: January 22, 2026
Neuropsychology degrees: What you’ll study
Neuropsychology is one of many psychological specialties—in fact, clinical neuropsychology is the American Psychological Association’s (APA) oldest defined specialty and was first recognized in 1996. This psychological niche is chiefly concerned with studying the relationship between the brain and behavior.
The Society of Clinical Neuropsychology (SCN), a division of the APA, states that, “Clinical neuropsychologists are professional clinical psychologists who undergo additional specialty training in cognitive psychology, neuroanatomy and neuropathology, neuroscience, behavioral neurology and pharmacology. Clinical neuropsychologists are primarily involved in the evaluation of a person’s cognitive abilities.”
Although the entire field of psychology is devoted to understanding more about the mind, neuropsychology really dives into the how the brain’s anatomical and physiological structures and processes affect human behavior. This knowledge is often applied to the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders or other cognitive impairments. So what kind of education is needed to break into the field?
In this article:
What degree levels are available?
Neuropsychology is one of many psychological specialties that you can study. Most neuropsychology degrees are offered at the doctoral level, as this is where budding psychologists typically start to specialize and find their niche. That said, some bachelor’s degrees in psychology offer neuropsychology as a concentration.
Master’s degrees in neuropsychology don’t really exist in the United States. That’s because most psychological specializations occur at the doctoral level which is required to become a licensed psychologist anyway.
There are many master’s degrees available in general or clinical psychology, however. These programs prepare students for a wide range of careers like working as a counselor or therapist, human resources manager, social services manager and more.
Bachelor’s degree programs
Length: About four years
Prerequisites: High school diploma or GED
Schools that have a neuropsychology major at the bachelor’s level are rare. It’s more common to find bachelor’s degrees in psychology that offer a neuropsychology or neuroscience concentration, but these too are not offered everywhere. Either can be a great option for people who know they are interested in a neuropsychology career, but it’s certainly not a requirement. A standard bachelor’s degree in psychology is a popular foundation for many people that want to work in psychology or social service fields.
Curriculum
Whether it’s a major itself or a concentration within a psychology program, you can expect to take classes that you would find in most psychology bachelor’s degree programs, such as:
- Developmental psychology
- Abnormal psychology
- Research methods in psychology
- Social psychology
- Foundations in biology and chemistry
On top of that, these programs may include a few more classes focused on slightly more advanced topics in neuropsychology:
- Sensation and perception
- Cognition and learning
- Psychopharmacology
- Additional courses in chemistry, such as organic chemistry
- Additional courses in biology
Doctoral programs
Length: Four to eight years
Prerequisites: Bachelor’s degree
Doctoral psychology programs make up the lion’s share of available neuropsychology degrees. This is where psychologists really start to find their niche and participate in advanced research efforts exploring brain-behavior relationships. Neuropsychology doctoral degrees are often a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in neuropsychology or a PhD in clinical psychology with a neuropsychology concentration or “track.”
Most doctoral psychology programs simply require candidates to have a bachelor’s degree in psychology, though some may require a master’s as well.
Curriculum
The Houston Guidelines is a document which was created at the Houston Conference in 1997 which sought to outline the criteria for training in clinical neuropsychology. These guidelines, agreed upon by a group of clinical neuropsychologists and delegates from organizations including the APA, outline the numerous knowledge areas and skills that one must have to be considered a neuropsychologist.
Knowledge areas:
- Generic psychology core (statistics and methodology, learning, cognition and perception, etc.)
- Generic clinical core (psychopathology, intervention techniques, etc.)
- Foundations for the study of brain-behavior relationships (functional neuroanatomy, neurological and related disorders, etc.)
- Foundations for the practice of clinical neuropsychology (specialized neuropsychology assessment and intervention techniques, etc.)
Skills:
- Assessment
- Treatment and intervention
- Consultation
- Research
- Teaching and supervision
The guidelines make clear that these knowledge areas and skills may be obtained at any point in a psychologist’s training and education. They are not supposed to be interpreted as a strict doctoral curriculum, therefore, but doctoral programs do usually include most. To this point, the Houston Guidelines state the following:
“Doctoral education in clinical neuropsychology occurs at a regionally accredited institution. All basic aspects of the generic psychology and generic clinical cores should be completed at the doctoral level. The foundation of brain-behavior relationships should be developed to a considerable degree at this level of training. Yet, variability may occur between doctoral programs in the degree to which foundations of brain-behavior relationships and clinical neuropsychology practice are emphasized.”
Program structure
Every neuropsychology program’s structure and course sequence are unique, but there are some general similarities between most programs.
The first few years typically begin with classes that cover advanced topics such as neuropsychological assessments, neuroanatomy, neuroimaging and cognitive rehabilitation, plus elective courses in specialized topics like school neuropsychology, stress and trauma or others. Students also usually take a few classes devoted to planning their doctoral dissertation and conducting research. Eventually, the student begins taking clinical courses (often as an internship or apprenticeship) where they start practicing what they’ve been learning in the classroom in real clinical settings. Near the end of their degree program, it’s common for a student to take classes which focus solely on their research efforts and/or clinical practice.
Becoming a licensed neuropsychologist
With a few exceptions in the field of school psychology, all psychologists need a doctoral degree to be licensed. They also need a certain number of hours of supervised clinical experience. The number of hours depends on each state’s laws, with most requiring around 4,000 hours.
Doctoral students start accruing these hours during the clinical internship portion of their degree program, but most people need to complete additional postdoctoral internships or fellowships to fulfill their state’s requirements. In fact, the Houston Guidelines state that in order to practice clinical neuropsychology, psychologists must complete at least two years of postdoctoral training in neuropsychology.
“Some specialties in psychology vary on this issue in terms of if you even need a postdoc or if it has to be a full-time postdoc, but the field of clinical neuropsychology has come to a consensus and said that if you’re going to practice in this specialty, given the advanced knowledge needed to do it well and competently, the only way to develop that is through a two-year postdoc,” said Dr. Scott Sperling, former Chair of the SCN’s Education Advisory Committee in a 2021 webinar about clinical neuropsychology specialty doctoral training and preparation.
Finally, prospective psychologists also have to take and pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) administered by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) in order to get their license.
States may have additional requirements, but these three pieces—education, experience hours and the exam—make up the essential components of licensure for all psychologists.
With a few exceptions in the field of school psychology, all psychologists need a doctoral degree to be licensed.
Board certification
Once licensed, neuropsychologists have the option of getting Board Certified by the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN), a specialty board within the larger American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Candidates for Board Certification in clinical psychology or pediatric clinical psychology must undergo a rigorous review process to qualify.
First, candidates need to satisfy the general requirements:
- Graduate from an approved doctoral psychology program
- Complete an internship program accredited by the APA or Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), or an equivalent year of supervised experience
- Possess an active psychologist’s license
After that, candidates must complete the specialty-specific requirements:
- Document their didactic and experiential training
- Pass a written examination administered by the ABCN
- Submit two practice samples for review
- Pass an oral examination that assesses the candidate’s scientific knowledge and clinical expertise in assessment, consultation, intervention and ethical practice
How long does it take to become a neuropsychologist?
Between earning a bachelor’s degree, completing a doctoral program and the thousands of hours of clinical practice needed to qualify for licensure, it typically takes at least eight to ten years to become a licensed neuropsychologist, though it often takes even more.
Are online programs available?
Many degree programs of all levels now offer some of their classes online, but you’re not going to find any reputable neuropsychology programs which are 100% online. Neuropsychology doctorates require extensive, hands-on research and face-to-face clinical practice that simply cannot be completed virtually.
Bachelor’s degree programs can be the exception, however, since they’re designed to provide a foundation in psychology and don’t yet involve the research and clinical practice that graduate programs do.
How much does a neuropsychology degree cost?
Many factors can influence the cost of a neuropsychology degree program including whether the school is public or private, nonprofit or for-profit, whether the student lives on campus or at home with family or whether the student is a resident of the state or not.
According to the most recent data available from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average total cost of attendance at a four-year undergraduate institution for a student living on campus was as follows for the 2021-2022 school year:
- Public institution: $26,000
- Private nonprofit institution: $55,800
- Private for-profit institution: $32,900
The figures for students that choose to live off campus with family are even lower.
For graduate degrees, the NCES states that median graduate school tuition and fees for the same school year were:
- Public institutions: $11,766
- Private nonprofit institutions: $24,534
Although the price tag of a doctoral education may seem staggering when you consider that most programs last between four and eight years, some doctoral programs are fully funded and may even include a living stipend. In addition, students in graduate degree programs may teach lower-level undergraduate courses which also typically comes with a stipend.
A word on accreditation
The APA accredits doctoral degrees in psychology, postdoctoral internships and fellowships. Many states require that you complete an APA-accredited doctoral program and clinical internship to qualify for licensure, so even if it may not be explicitly required where you are from, you could have trouble getting a license elsewhere should you ever decide to move.
For all other programs, the degree program and the school should be accredited by a regional accreditation body that is approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
Next steps
Many people in the scientific community think of the brain as a “final frontier” of the human body. There is still so much we don’t know about how exactly our brains work, from differences in personalities to consciousness itself. A career as a neuropsychologist could allow you to participate in and make discoveries that expand our understanding of the brain, but it takes a lot of work to get there.
You can start by searching for bachelor’s degrees in psychology today, or start exploring doctoral programs in clinical neuropsychology if your baccalaureate education is already underway.