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Most Popular Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools in California

44 Colleges
$62,738 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Psychology Doctor'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 Most Popular Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 44 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Psychology program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Psychology Doctor's Degree Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Alliant International University the most popular school in California for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Alliant is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Women make up 78% of the psychology majors at the school.

Read full report on Psychology at Alliant International University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Women make up 78% of the psychology majors at the school.

Read full report on Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles

#3

Palo Alto University

Palo Alto, CA

Out of the 44 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.

About 84% of the students majoring in psychology at the school are women while 16% are male.

Full Psychology at Palo Alto University Report

#4

Northcentral University

San Diego, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Northcentral University is a great place for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Northcentral University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

About 74% of the students majoring in psychology at the school are women while 26% are male.

Read full report on Psychology at Northcentral University

#5

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fielding Graduate University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Santa Barbara.

About 81% of the students majoring in psychology at the school are women while 19% are male.

Read More…

#6

Pacifica Graduate Institute

Carpinteria, CA

Pacifica Graduate Institute did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for psychology students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Pacifica Graduate Institute is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the rural area of Carpinteria.

About 78% of the students majoring in psychology at the school are women while 22% are male.

Read full report on Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute

#7

The Wright Institute

Berkeley, CA

The Wright Institute landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree psychology programs. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, The Wright Institute is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

About 74% of the students majoring in psychology at the school are women while 26% are male.

Read More…

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Irvine ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Irvine, The Chicago School Irvine Campus is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

About 81% of the students majoring in psychology at the school are women while 19% are male.

Read full report on Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Irvine

California Institute of Integral Studies did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for psychology students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. CIIS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

About 77% of the students majoring in psychology at the school are women while 23% are male.

Read More…

#10

Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

Pepperdine University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

About 84% of the students majoring in psychology at the school are women while 16% are male.

Full Psychology at Pepperdine University Report

Best Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 26 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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