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Best Psychology Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Psychology Master's Degree Schools in California

74 Colleges
$45,565 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Psychology Master'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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Psychology Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 74 schools in California to see which master'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 Master’s Degree Schools in California

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

Top 15% Best Psychology Master'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 master’s degree in California. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Psychology at Stanford University Report

#2

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Brandman University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Psychology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Brandman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

Read full report on Psychology at Brandman University

#3

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 # 3 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.

Full Psychology at Palo Alto University Report

#4

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

Out of the 74 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Fielding Graduate University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Barbara.

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#5

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Santa Clara University is a great place for psychology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Santa Clara University

With a ranking of #6, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for psychology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at University of Southern California

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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#8

Touro University Worldwide

Los Alamitos, CA

Touro University Worldwide landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree psychology programs. TUW is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Los Alamitos.

Full Psychology at Touro University Worldwide Report

#9

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco ranked #9 on this year’s Best Psychology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at University of San Francisco

California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

Read More…

#11

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Loma Linda.

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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 Master's Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
12 Fuller Theological Seminary Pasadena, CA
13 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA
14 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA

Best Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Psychology Schools 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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