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2024 Best General Psychology Schools in California

77 Colleges in California
29,992 Psychology Degrees Awarded
$32,807 Avg Early-Career Salary
General Psychology is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #4 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want 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. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for general 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.

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. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for General 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 psychology degree levels they offer. 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
684 Psychology Degrees Awarded
$44,121 Median Starting Salary

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

There were approximately 684 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general psychology degree program at University of California - Los Angeles get $11,314 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
188 Psychology Degrees Awarded
12.2% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in general psychology. Located in the large 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 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 188 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. General Psychology degree recipients from University of Southern California get an earnings boost of around $2,117 over the typical earnings of general psychology graduates.

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
367 Psychology Degrees Awarded
16.3% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Irvine is a good decision for students interested in a degree in general psychology. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very 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. Soon after graduating, psychology degree recipients generally make an average of $28,714 at the beginning of their careers.

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
104 Psychology Degrees Awarded
$50,081 Median Starting Salary

Santa Clara University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in general psychology. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 schools 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 data year. Those general psychology students who get their degree from Santa Clara University make $17,274 more than the standard psychology graduate.

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

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
109 Psychology Degrees Awarded
$41,377 Median Starting Salary

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. Those general psychology students who get their degree from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles receive $8,570 more than the typical psychology grad.

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
216 Psychology Degrees Awarded
7.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the 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 roughly 216 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. After graduation, psychology degree recipients generally earn an average of $28,185 in the first five years of their career.

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

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
69 Psychology Degrees Awarded
1.4% Growth in Graduates

Claremont Graduate University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large 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. General Psychology degree recipients from Claremont Graduate University receive an earnings boost of about $28,614 over the average earnings of general psychology majors.

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

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
520 Psychology Degrees Awarded
$27,446 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small 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 schools 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. Graduates who receive their degree from the psychology program earn about $27,446 in the first couple years of working.

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

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
515 Psychology Degrees Awarded
11.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the 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 colleges nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were about 515 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the psychology program make an average of $33,851 in the first couple years of working.

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

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
638 Psychology Degrees Awarded
12.1% Growth in Graduates

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

There were approximately 638 general psychology students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general psychology major at San Diego State University earn $6,580 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

11
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
535 Psychology Degrees Awarded
$26,891 Median Starting Salary

Located in the 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. Soon after graduating, psychology degree recipients generally make around $26,891 in their early careers.

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 300 1,737
Oregon 266 1,632
Nevada 192 908
Hawaii 164 389
Alaska 119 109

View All Rankings >

General Psychology is one of 24 different types of Psychology programs to choose from.

Psychology Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 29,992

View All Psychology Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Psychology

Related Major Annual Graduates
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 6,163
Child Development & Psychology 4,035
Other Psychology 398

View All Psychology Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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