Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Psychology in California (With Aid)

61 Ranked Colleges
13,973 Degrees Awarded
$12,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

General Psychology is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 4th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 134,326 degrees were awarded to students with this major.

Across California, there were 27,163 general psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 13,973 general psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 61 colleges that offered a degree in general psychology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general psychology programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general psychology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Psychology in California (With Aid)

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. CSUDH is a public institution located in Carson, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 499 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $4,215 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid per year to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on General Psychology at CSUDH

#19 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s psychology degrees to 723 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid list, Cal State Fullerton has also earned the #19 rank in our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $7,991 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid per year to attend Cal State Fullerton.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Psychology at California State University - Fullerton

#13 in overall quality

Out of the 61 schools in the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Long Beach, California, this large public school handed out 503 degrees to qualified bachelors’s psychology students in 2019-2020.

CSULB also made our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #13. It costs about $9,622 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid per year to attend California State University - Long Beach.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on General Psychology at CSULB

#25 in overall quality

Out of the 61 schools in the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the #4 spot on the list. CSUN is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 804 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUN, the school also landed the #25 spot in our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,414 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid per year to attend California State University - Northridge.

The low student loan default rate of 2.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full CSUN General Psychology Report

#5

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 61 schools in the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #5 spot on the list. University of California - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 622 bachelors’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCLA is $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on General Psychology at University of California - Los Angeles

California State University - Fresno came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Fresno, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s psychology degrees to 443 students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $5,464 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Psychology at California State University - Fresno

California State University - Stanislaus landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Stan State is located in Turlock, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 373 bachelors’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

The yearly cost to attend Stan State is $6,019 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on General Psychology at California State University - Stanislaus

#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school handed out 306 degrees to qualified bachelors’s psychology students in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid per year to attend University of California - Irvine.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Psychology at UC Irvine

California State University - San Bernardino landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. This fairly large school is located in San Bernardino, California, and it awarded 687 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State University - San Bernardino is $7,342 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on General Psychology at California State University - San Bernardino

#24 in overall quality

California State University - Sacramento ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Sac State is a public institution located in Sacramento, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 489 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Sac State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #24 on our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $9,979 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid per year to attend Sac State.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on General Psychology at California State University - Sacramento

California State University - Bakersfield did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. California State University - Bakersfield is located in Bakersfield, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 234 bachelors’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

The yearly cost to attend CSUB is $5,318 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid.

Read more about General Psychology at CSUB

#10 in overall quality

University of California - San Diego landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. UCSD is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 200 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid list, UCSD has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSD is $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UCSD General Psychology Report

#13

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#7 in overall quality

San Jose State University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 428 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State University is $14,928 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on General Psychology at San Jose State University

#22 in overall quality

With a ranking of #14, California State University - East Bay did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Hayward, California, this fairly large public school handed out 345 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s psychology students in 2019-2020.

Cal State East Bay did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #22 on our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,116 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid per year to attend Cal State East Bay.

Read full report on General Psychology at Cal State East Bay

California State University - San Marcos came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. California State University - San Marcos is a fairly large school located in San Marcos, California that handed out 307 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $13,399 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid per year to attend California State University - San Marcos.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Psychology at California State University - San Marcos

#16

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s psychology degrees to 524 students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for SDSU is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Psychology at San Diego State University

California State University - Monterey Bay came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Seaside, California, this medium-sized public school handed out 242 degrees to qualified bachelors’s psychology students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Monterey Bay is $12,212 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Psychology at CSUMB

#18

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Francisco State University is a large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 408 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend SFSU is $15,113 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid.

Read more about General Psychology at SFSU

#19

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#12 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 514 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Cruz is $18,186 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Santa Cruz General Psychology Report

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #20. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school awarded 269 degrees to qualified bachelors’s psychology students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal Poly Pomona General Psychology Report

California State University - Channel Islands did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #21. Located in Camarillo, California, this medium-sized public school handed out 327 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s psychology students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $13,558 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid per year to attend California State University - Channel Islands.

The low student loan default rate of 2.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full California State University - Channel Islands General Psychology Report

California State University - Chico ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Chico State is a fairly large school located in Chico, California that handed out 342 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $15,017 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid per year to attend California State University - Chico.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Chico General Psychology Report

University of California - Merced came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of California - Merced is a medium-sized school located in Merced, California that handed out 241 bachelors’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend University of California - Merced is $13,896 for california bachelor’s degree psychology students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Merced General Psychology Report

#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #24, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. San Luis Obispo, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s psychology degrees to 124 students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best General Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $21,595 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Psychology at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

#25

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, California

With a ranking of #25, Sonoma State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Rohnert Park, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s psychology degrees to 213 students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Sonoma State University is $17,478 for California Bachelor’s Degree Psychology students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Psychology at Sonoma State University

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to BruceBlaus.

Featured Psychology Schools

Find Schools Near You