The accreditation council for the American Psychological Association is responsible for many different avenues of psychology education. While some accrediting organizations only over see a certain degree level, the APA oversees the quality of doctoral graduate training programs, internships, and postdoctoral residencies. The accreditation process for all of these different levels of training is intended to assure consistent quality across the wide array of programs offered in the United States.

All accreditation done by the American Psychological Association is separate from the government's involvement and functions as a credential of high quality education. A program with the stamp of approval by the APA is publicly recognized for being part of an exclusive group of "top notch" psychology training programs.

While accreditation of the APA comes with a few set standards in place, there is also a purposeful intention given to programs to define their own niche in the academic community. That's why some schools accredited under the APA's umbrella are known to be more specialized in one area than others. There are about 60 schools total holding a place of their own under the accreditation of the APA.