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Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California

16 Colleges
$54,329 Avg Salary
$18,750 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate School for You

Psychology is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 7,826 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 5th out of all the majors we track in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 16 schools in California to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

Our analysis found Fielding Graduate University to be the best school for psychology students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in California. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Barbara.

Read full report on Psychology at Fielding Graduate University

#2

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Brandman University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best psychology schools in California. Brandman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Irvine.

Read full report on Psychology at Brandman University

Out of the 16 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles landed the # 3 spot on the list. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Claremont Graduate University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best psychology schools in California. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Golden Gate University - San Francisco. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best 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.

Read full report on Psychology at Golden Gate University - San Francisco

#6

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 #6 on the list. Northcentral University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

Read full report on Psychology at Northcentral University

#7

National University

La Jolla, CA

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

Full Psychology at National University Report

#8

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate psychology programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Psychology at Mount Saint Mary’s University Report

#9

Holy Names University

Oakland, CA

Holy Names 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 #9 on the list. Located in the city of Oakland, HNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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Vanguard University of Southern California came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Vanguard is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Costa Mesa.

Read More…

Best Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Psychology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 406
Oregon 367
Nevada 88
Hawaii 140
Alaska 23

Psychology Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 29,224
General Psychology 8,051
Child Development & Psychology 2,576
Other Psychology 2,162

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 199,724
Social Sciences 22,292
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 16 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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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