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Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

74 Colleges
$29,054 Avg Salary
$26,428 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, psychology students earned 40,562 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 5th in the state.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 74 schools in California to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for psychology students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Psychology at Stanford University Report

#2

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Out of the 74 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Santa Clara University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Santa Clara University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Psychology at University of Southern California Report

#5

Palo Alto University

Palo Alto, CA

Out of the 74 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Palo Alto University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Palo Alto.

Read full report on Psychology at Palo Alto University

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles ranked #6 on this year’s Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Full Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles Report

Dominican University of California landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree psychology programs. Located in the small city of San Rafael, DUofC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Psychology at Dominican University of California Report

#8

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at National University

#9

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Brandman University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Brandman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

Read More…

#10

Touro University Worldwide

Los Alamitos, CA

Touro University Worldwide landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree psychology programs. TUW is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Los Alamitos.

Read More…

#11

Westmont College

Santa Barbara, CA

Westmont College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, Westmont is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Psychology at Westmont College Report

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
12 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
13 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
14 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA

Best Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 2,848
Oregon 2,071
Hawaii 511
Nevada 996
Alaska 133

Psychology Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 141,695
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 33,758
Child Development & Psychology 17,542
Other Psychology 2,683

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 327,871
Social Sciences 205,984
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820
History 32,731

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Nevit Dilmen.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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