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2024 Best General Psychology Schools in California

77 Colleges in California
29,992 Psychology Degrees Awarded
General Psychology is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #4 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 77 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Psychology Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 29,992 degrees in general psychology during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great General Psychology School

Best General Psychology Schools in California The psychology program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Psychology rankings. For our Best Overall General Psychology School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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.

General Psychology Rankings by Degree Level

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General 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 General Psychology in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the psychology degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

11 Top California Schools in Psychology

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
684 Psychology Degrees Awarded

Any student who is interested in general psychology has to check out University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 684 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general psychology from University of California - Los Angeles

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
52nd Most Popular In CA
188 Psychology Degrees Awarded

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in general psychology. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 188 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general psychology from University of Southern California

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20th Most Popular In CA
367 Psychology Degrees Awarded

University of California - Irvine is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in general psychology. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were about 367 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general psychology from University of California - Irvine

4
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
98th Most Popular In CA
104 Psychology Degrees Awarded

Santa Clara University is a good option for students interested in a degree in general psychology. 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 104 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general psychology from Santa Clara University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
95th Most Popular In CA
109 Psychology Degrees Awarded

The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

There were approximately 109 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at The Chicago School Los Angeles Campus in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
40th Most Popular In CA
216 Psychology Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were approximately 216 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general psychology from University of California - San Diego

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
127th Most Popular In CA
69 Psychology Degrees Awarded

Claremont Graduate University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Claremont. This university ranks 27th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 69 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at Claremont Graduate University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general psychology from Claremont Graduate University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
520 Psychology Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #102 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Santa Cruz is a great university overall.

There were approximately 520 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general psychology from University of California - Santa Cruz

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
515 Psychology Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 515 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general psychology from San Jose State University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In CA
638 Psychology Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were about 638 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general psychology from San Diego State University

11
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
535 Psychology Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 28th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 535 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general psychology from California State University - Long Beach


 

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best General Psychology Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
12 Pepperdine University Malibu, CA
13 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
14 Palo Alto University Palo Alto, CA
15 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
16 Loma Linda University Loma Linda, CA
17 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
18 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
19 University of California - Davis Davis, CA

Best General Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Psychology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 1,737
Oregon 587 1,632
Nevada 354 908
Hawaii 267 389
Alaska 167 109

View All Rankings >

General Psychology is one of 0 different types of General Psychology programs to choose from.

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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