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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

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Most Popular Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. 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 colleges and universities below are the most popular for psychology majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Our analysis found Alliant International University to be the most popular school for psychology students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in California. Alliant is a small private for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

Of the 206 students majoring in psychology at Alliant, 22% are male and 78% are female.

Full Psychology at Alliant International University Report

Out of the 44 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles landed the # 2 spot on the list. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Of the 119 students majoring in psychology at The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus, 22% are male and 78% are female.

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

#3

Palo Alto University

Palo Alto, CA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Palo Alto University is a great place for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Palo Alto.

Women make up 84% of the psychology majors at the school.

Read More…

#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.

Women make up 74% of the psychology majors at the school.

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.

Women make up 81% of the psychology majors at the school.

Read More…

#6

Pacifica Graduate Institute

Carpinteria, CA

Pacifica Graduate Institute ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California list. Pacifica Graduate Institute is a small private for-profit school located in the rural area of Carpinteria.

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

Read full report on Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute

#7

The Wright Institute

Berkeley, CA

The Wright 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 #7 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, The Wright Institute is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Women make up 74% of the psychology majors at the school.

Read full report on Psychology at The Wright Institute

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

Women make up 81% of the psychology majors at the school.

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

California Institute of Integral Studies landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree psychology programs. CIIS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

Women make up 77% of the psychology majors at the school.

Read More…

#10

Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

With a ranking of #10, Pepperdine University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for psychology students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Women make up 84% of the psychology majors at the school.

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 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 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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