Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Psychology Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Psychology Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

75 Colleges
$8,887 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$40,013 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Psychology 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Psychology Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 75 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for psychology students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Psychology Schools in California

Check out the psychology programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 15% Best Psychology Schools

Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for psychology students. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, San Jose State also did well on our Best Psychology Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Psychology at San Jose State University

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 75 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 2 spot on the list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. Psychology majors at CSULB take out an average of $13,750 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Psychology at California State University - Long Beach

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Sacramento helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best psychology schools in California. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year. On average, psychology graduates from Sac State take out $15,000 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $179.

Full Psychology at California State University - Sacramento Report

#4

Touro University Worldwide

Los Alamitos, CA
$14,640 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Touro University Worldwide. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools in California list. TUW is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Los Alamitos.

TUW undergraduate students pay an average of $14,640 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at TUW take out is $21,708.

TUW excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Psychology Schools in California list.

Read More…

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Psychology Schools in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year. While working on their degree, psychology majors at Cal State Fullerton accumulate an average of around $13,672 in student debt.

Read full report on Psychology at California State University - Fullerton

$7,218 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Monterey Bay ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUMB are $7,218 a year. On average, psychology graduates from CSUMB take out $13,000 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $220, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Psychology at California State University - Monterey Bay Report

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Northridge landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value psychology programs. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a very large student population.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, psychology graduates from CSUN take out $12,990 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Psychology at California State University - Northridge

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Fresno landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value psychology programs. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a very large student population.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, psychology graduates from Fresno State take out $13,855 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

#9

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA
$7,988 Average Tuition & Fees

Sonoma State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for psychology students. It came in at #9 on the list. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Rohnert Park.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SSU are $7,988 per year. After completing their degree, psychology graduates from SSU carry an average student debtload of $15,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $254.

Full Psychology at Sonoma State University Report

$7,727 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - San Marcos landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value psychology programs. Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public school with a large student population.

CSUSM undergraduate students pay an average of $7,727 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, psychology majors at CSUSM accumulate an average of around $16,750 in student debt.

Read full report on Psychology at California State University - San Marcos

$7,060 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for psychology students. It came in at #11 on the list. CSUDH is a large public school located in the city of Carson.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUDH are $7,060 per year. On average, psychology graduates from CSUDH take out $13,323 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read More…

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great value schools for Psychology students in the state of California seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Psychology Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
12 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
13 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
14 Brandman University Irvine, CA
15 California State University - Stanislaus Turlock, CA

Best Value Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value 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.

  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.