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2024 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools in California

53 Colleges in California
6,163 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
$53,704 Avg Early-Career Salary
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #33 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 53 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for clinical, counseling & applied psychology students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 6,163 degrees in clinical, counseling & applied psychology to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology School

Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools in California Your choice of clinical, counseling & applied psychology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for clinical, counseling & applied psychology schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Clinical Psychology
Master's Degrees in Clinical Psychology
Doctor's Degrees in Clinical Psychology

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the clinical psychology degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in Clinical Psychology

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
432 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
$55,053 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles if you want to pursue a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

There were roughly 432 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program make around $55,053 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
205 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
5.4% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat Fielding Graduate University if you wish to pursue a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the small city of Santa Barbara, Fielding is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Fielding is a great university overall.

There were approximately 205 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at Fielding in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology program at Fielding Graduate University get $8,733 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Fielding Graduate University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
173 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
23.1% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat University of California - San Diego if you want to pursue a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were about 173 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program make about $29,313 for their early career.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of California - San Diego

4
Pacific Graduate School of Psychology crest
Palo Alto University
Palo Alto, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
192 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
$57,598 Median Starting Salary

Palo Alto University is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the rural area of Palo Alto, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

There were approximately 192 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology degree program at Palo Alto University earn $3,894 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Palo Alto University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
8.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 116 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology major at University of Southern California make $3,711 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of Southern California

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
518 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
46.1% Growth in Graduates

Pepperdine is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Malibu. A Best Colleges rank of #94 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Pepperdine is a great university overall.

There were approximately 518 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at Pepperdine in the most recent data year. Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their degree from Pepperdine University earn $2,208 more than the typical clinical psychology grad.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Pepperdine University

7
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
98 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
$57,675 Median Starting Salary

SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 98 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year. Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology degree recipients from Santa Clara University earn a boost of around $3,971 above the average income of clinical, counseling & applied psychology graduates.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Santa Clara University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
293 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
$65,877 Median Starting Salary

Alliant is a small private for-profit university located in the large city of San Diego. This university ranks 46th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 293 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at Alliant in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology degree program at Alliant International University make $12,173 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Alliant International University

9
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,007 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
15.6% Growth in Graduates

National University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #196 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means National University is a great university overall.

There were about 1007 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent data year. After graduating, clinical psychology degree recipients usually make around $55,141 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from National University

10
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
196 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
27.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.

There were approximately 196 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year. Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their degree from University of San Francisco earn $2,686 more than the standard clinical psychology student.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of San Francisco


 

Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 432
Oregon 266 373
Nevada 192 23
Hawaii 164 122
Alaska 119 24

View All Rankings >

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology is one of 24 different types of Psychology programs to choose from.

Clinical Psychology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Clinical Psychology 1,761
Counseling Psychology 1,391
Applied Behavior Analysis 1,304
School Psychology 486
Industrial & Organizational Psychology 363
Applied Psychology 265
Forensic Psychology 239
Other Psychology & Counseling 166
Educational Psychology 72
Health/Medical Psychology 64

View All Clinical Psychology Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 29,992
Child Development & Psychology 4,035
Other Psychology 398

View All Clinical Psychology Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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