2024 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools in California
Ranked #8 in popularity,
clinical, counseling & applied psychology is one of the most sought-after doctor's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual looked at 23 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 808 doctor's degrees in clinical, counseling & applied psychology during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology School for Your Doctor's Degree
The clinical psychology doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality clinical psychology program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on clinical, counseling & applied psychology students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for clinical, counseling & applied psychology to pay back their student loans after receiving their doctor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized clinical, counseling & applied psychology related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for clinical, counseling & applied psychology students working on their doctor's degree.
More Ways to Rank Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools
The clinical psychology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Doctor's Degree Schools in California.
Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology in California
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology.
10 Top California Schools for a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
It is hard to beat The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the city of Los Angeles, The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Doctorate students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program earn about $60,806 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles
It is difficult to beat Palo Alto University if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology is a small private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Palo Alto.
Doctorate graduates who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program earn around $61,567 in their early career salary.
More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Palo Alto University
Fielding Graduate University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Fielding is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Santa Barbara.
Doctorate students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program earn around $65,198 for their early career.
More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Fielding Graduate University
Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology needs to look into Alliant International University. Located in the city of San Diego, Alliant is a private for-profit university with a small student population.
Doctorate students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program make an average of $64,476 in their early career salary.
More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Alliant International University
The Wright Institute is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
Doctorate graduates who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program make about $64,285 in their early career salary.
More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from The Wright Institute
The Chicago School Irvine Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Anaheim.More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Irvine
Located in the city of Pasadena, Fuller is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology doctor's degree recipients from Fuller Theological Seminary receive an earnings boost of around $6,658 over the typical earnings of clinical, counseling & applied psychology graduates.
More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary
Located in the large suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Soon after graduation, clinical psychology doctorate recipients typically make an average of $64,518 in their early careers.
More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Pepperdine University
Located in the large suburb of La Mirada, Biola is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.
Doctorate recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology program at Biola University get $9,513 more than the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Biola University
USFCA is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco.More information about a doctorate in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of San Francisco
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