2023 Most Popular Psychology Schools in California
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.
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The Most Popular Psychology Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 217 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Psychology program at each school on the list.
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2023 Most Popular Psychology Schools in California
Check out the psychology programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.
Top 25 Most Popular California Schools in Psychology
Our analysis found National University to be the most popular school for psychology students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Psychology majors at National University take out an average of $32,188 in student loans while working on their egree.
Out of the 217 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the # 2 spot on the list. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the city of Irvine.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at UC Irvine take out is $14,650. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $159.
Read full report on Psychology at University of California - Irvine
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for psychology students. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from UCLA carry an average student debt load of $16,239. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $306, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Read full report on Psychology at University of California - Los Angeles
The excellent programs at California State University - Northridge helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best psychology schools in California. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from CSUN carry an average student debt load of $12,990.
Full Psychology at California State University - Northridge Report
The excellent programs at University of California - Davis helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best psychology schools in California. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at UC Davis take out is $14,246. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $252, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
California State University - Fullerton came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Psychology Schools in California ranking. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from Cal State Fullerton carry an average student debt load of $13,672.
Pepperdine University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Psychology Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
On average, psychology graduates from Pepperdine take out $22,000 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $595.
San Diego State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Psychology Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at SDSU take out is $15,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $235, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
University of California - Riverside landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular psychology programs. UCR is a fairly large public school located in the city of Riverside.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from UCR carry an average student debt load of $18,500. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $120, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
California State University - San Bernardino ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino, CSUSB is a public school with a large student population.
While working on their degree, psychology majors at CSUSB accumulate an average of around $18,809 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $146, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
Full Psychology at California State University - San Bernardino Report
California State University - Sacramento landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular psychology programs. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.
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.
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology 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.
Psychology majors at The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus take out an average of $37,009 in student loans while working on their egree.
University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular psychology programs. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
While working on their degree, psychology majors at UCSB accumulate an average of around $15,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $311, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
University of California - San Diego ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a very large student population.
On average, psychology graduates from UCSD take out $16,667 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $232.
California State University - Long Beach ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.
The average amount in student loans that psychology majors at CSULB take out is $13,750.
Full Psychology at California State University - Long Beach Report
With a ranking of #17, California State University - Fresno did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for psychology students. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a very large student population.
While working on their degree, psychology majors at Fresno State accumulate an average of around $13,855 in student debt.
Full Psychology at California State University - Fresno Report
University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for psychology students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public school with a fairly large student population.
While working on their degree, psychology majors at UC Santa Cruz accumulate an average of around $19,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $236.
Read full report on Psychology at University of California - Santa Cruz
San Jose State University ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the large city of San Jose.
California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular psychology programs. CSUDH is a large public school located in the city of Carson.
After completing their degree, psychology graduates from CSUDH carry an average student debt load of $13,323.
San Francisco State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for psychology students. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
On average, psychology graduates from SFSU take out $15,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $190.
Read full report on Psychology at San Francisco State University
Sierra College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for psychology students. It came in at #22 on the list. Sierra College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Rocklin.
California State University - East Bay came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Psychology Schools in California ranking. Located in the large suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Psychology majors at Cal State East Bay take out an average of $15,000 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $187.
Full Psychology at California State University - East Bay Report
California State University - Stanislaus came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Psychology Schools in California ranking. Stan State is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Turlock.
Psychology majors at Stan State take out an average of $15,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
With a ranking of #25, Northcentral University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for psychology students. Northcentral University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.
Psychology majors at Northcentral University take out an average of $33,125 in student loans while working on their egree.
Rest of the Top Most Popular Psychology Schools in California
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional popular schools for Psychology students in the state of California that almost earned our Most Popular Psychology Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA |
| 34 | Bakersfield College | Bakersfield, CA |
| 35 | California State University - Channel Islands | Camarillo, CA |
| 36 | Pasadena City College | Pasadena, CA |
| 37 | California State University - San Marcos | San Marcos, CA |
| 38 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 39 | University of California - Merced | Merced, CA |
| 40 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA |
| 41 | Alliant International University | San Diego, CA |
| 42 | Azusa Pacific University | Azusa, CA |
| 43 | Touro University Worldwide | Los Alamitos, CA |
Best Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Most Popular 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 |
Majors Related to Psychology
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 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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.
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