Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Most Popular Psychology Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Psychology Schools in California

87 Colleges
$40,013 Avg Salary
$22,554 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Psychology 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 Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 87 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.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Psychology Colleges.

#1

National University

La Jolla, CA

Our 2023 rankings named National University the most popular school in California for psychology students. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Psychology at National University Report

#2

Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pepperdine University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Pepperdine University

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles is a great place for psychology students. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read More…

#4

Northcentral University

San Diego, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northcentral University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. Northcentral University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Alliant International University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. Alliant is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Read More…

#7

Touro University Worldwide

Los Alamitos, CA

Touro University Worldwide did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for psychology students. It came in at #7 on the list. TUW is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Los Alamitos.

Full Psychology at Touro University Worldwide Report

California Institute of Integral Studies ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. CIIS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Read More…

#9

Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara, CA

Fielding Graduate University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for psychology students. It came in at #9 on the list. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Barbara.

Read More…

California Baptist University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Psychology Schools in California ranking. Cal Baptist is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Riverside.

Full Psychology at California Baptist University Report

#11

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Psychology Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Psychology at University of San Francisco

With a ranking of #12, Antioch University - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for psychology students. Located in the large suburb of Culver City, Antioch University - Los Angeles is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Psychology at Antioch University - Los Angeles

#13

Palo Alto University

Palo Alto, CA

Palo Alto University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular psychology programs. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Palo Alto.

Read full report on Psychology at Palo Alto University

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
14 Pacifica Graduate Institute Carpinteria, CA
15 The Wright Institute Berkeley, CA
16 Brandman University Irvine, CA
17 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA

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 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.