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Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California

2023 Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

16 Colleges
$18,301 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$54,329 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate 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.

The Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 16 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate programs for psychology students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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.

Top 10 Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Brandman University the best value school in California for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. Brandman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Brandman are $12,720 a year.

Brandman also claimed a spot on our Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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#2

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Fielding Graduate University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value psychology schools in California. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Barbara.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Fielding are $18,718 a year.

Fielding not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list.

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The excellent graduate certificate programs at California State University - Monterey Bay helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value psychology schools in California. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUMB are $8,652 per year.

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#4

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Mount Saint Mary’s University is a great value for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

MSMU graduate students pay an average of $13,099 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Psychology at Mount Saint Mary’s University Report

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Concordia University, Irvine. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Concordia University, Irvine are $8,564 a year.

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Vanguard University of Southern California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Vanguard is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Costa Mesa.

Vanguard graduate students pay an average of $12,376 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#7

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

National University graduate students pay an average of $15,480 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate psychology programs. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus are $23,918 a year.

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Golden Gate University - San Francisco ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Golden Gate University - San Francisco graduate students pay an average of $19,875 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Psychology at Golden Gate University - San Francisco Report

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#10

Northcentral University

San Diego, CA

Northcentral University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for psychology students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Northcentral University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northcentral University are $18,207 per year.

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Best Value Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value 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 16 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.

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