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2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California

9 Ranked Colleges
157 Degrees Awarded
$28,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

With 134,326 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, general psychology is the 4th most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, general psychology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $28,999 and had an average of $26,247 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 27,163 general psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,241 and $31,161 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 157 general psychology graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in general psychology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general psychology programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general psychology program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California” list to help you make the college decision.

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 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 Doctorate in California

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

Top 10 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for General Psychology in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 27 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131.

Read more about General Psychology at UCLA

#2

Northcentral University

San Diego, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northcentral University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California. Northcentral University is located in San Diego, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 57 doctorate’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

Northcentral University also made our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northcentral University are $18,095, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northcentral University General Psychology Report

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #3 spot on the list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree psychology students list, UC Davis has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Davis are $28,700.

Read more about General Psychology at University of California - Davis

#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California. University of California - Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s psychology degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456.

Read full report on General Psychology at UC Irvine

#4

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Cruz. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California list. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 3 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Cruz are $28,952, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Santa Cruz General Psychology Report

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Merced did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Merced, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Merced, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Merced are $43,854, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Psychology at UC Merced

#7

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, California

Loma Linda University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking. This small school is located in Loma Linda, California, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

Loma Linda University also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Loma Linda University are $30,640.

Read more about General Psychology at Loma Linda University

#8

Claremont Graduate University

Claremont, California

Claremont Graduate University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking, coming in at #8. Claremont, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s psychology degrees to 24 students in 2019-2020.

Claremont Graduate University also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Claremont Graduate University are $36,380.

Read full report on General Psychology at Claremont Graduate University

#9

Saybrook University

Oakland, California

Saybrook University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Psychology Schools for a Doctorate in California ranking. Saybrook University is a small school located in Oakland, California that handed out 14 doctorate’s psychology degrees in 2019-2020.

Saybrook University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best General Psychology Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Saybrook University are $25,206, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Psychology at Saybrook University

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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.

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