This study aimed to analyze the internationalization aspects of doctorates of excellence in Psychology in Brazil and Spain. It is a documental analysis for the period 2007-2012 involving six Brazilian programs which obtained the grades of 6 and 7 in the CAPES assessment 2010-2012 and five Spanish programs which received Mención hacia la Excelencia in 2010-2011. Three types of data were collected: general characterization, student training and scientific production. The main differences were the higher productivity of Brazilian researchers and the prevalence, in Brazil, of Psychology areas aligned with the mainstream of international research. Regarding the similarities, it is worth noting the tutorial profile of the training process and the importance of personal initiatives in achieving international standards of excellence.