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Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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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.

2023 Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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

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 city of Irvine.

Brandman graduate students pay an average of $12,720 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Brandman excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list.

Full Psychology at Brandman University Report

#2

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

Out of the 16 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Fielding Graduate University landed the # 2 spot on the list. 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 also made our Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list, coming in at #1.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Monterey Bay. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the midsize suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

CSUMB graduate students pay an average of $8,652 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#4

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Saint Mary’s University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at MSMU are $13,099 a year.

Full Psychology at Mount Saint Mary’s University Report

Out of the 16 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Concordia University, Irvine landed the # 5 spot on the list. Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Concordia University, Irvine are $8,564 per year.

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Vanguard University of Southern California landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate psychology programs. Vanguard is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Costa Mesa.

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

Read More…

#7

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate psychology programs. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at National University are $15,480 per year.

Full Psychology at National University Report

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 graduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus graduate students pay an average of $23,918 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

Golden Gate University - San Francisco landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate psychology programs. Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Golden Gate University - San Francisco are $19,875 a year.

Full Psychology at Golden Gate University - San Francisco Report

#10

Northcentral University

San Diego, CA

With a ranking of #10, Northcentral University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. Northcentral University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Northcentral University are $18,207 a year.

Read More…

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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