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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

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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. 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.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

Our analysis found Brandman University to be the best value school for psychology students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in California. Brandman is a medium-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.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Brandman also is in the top 20% of our Best Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking.

Full Psychology at Brandman University Report

#2

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Fielding Graduate University is a great value for psychology students working on their graduate certificate. 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.

Read full report on Psychology at Fielding Graduate University

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.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUMB are $8,652 a year.

Full Psychology at California State University - Monterey Bay Report

#4

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mount Saint Mary’s University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit school 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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Concordia University, Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

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

Read full report on Psychology at Concordia University, Irvine

Vanguard University of Southern California ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Vanguard is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Costa Mesa.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Vanguard are $12,376 per year.

Read More…

#7

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at National University are $15,480 a year.

Read full report on Psychology at National University

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large 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.

Read More…

Golden Gate University - San Francisco 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. 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.

Read More…

#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 large city of San Diego.

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

Full Psychology at Northcentral University Report

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 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.

  • 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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