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2024 Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

64 Colleges in California
19,153 Bachelor's Degrees
$29,372 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in psychology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #5 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 64 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 19,153 bachelor's degrees in psychology during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Psychology School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of psychology for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality psychology program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for psychology students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Psychology Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The psychology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California.

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.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Psychology in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in psychology.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Psychology

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
177 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in psychology. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from University of Southern California

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,062 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in psychology. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from University of California - Los Angeles

3
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
104 Annual Graduates

Santa Clara University is a great option for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in psychology. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from Santa Clara University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,136 Annual Graduates

University of California - Irvine is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in psychology. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from University of California - Irvine

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
571 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from University of California - San Diego

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
567 Annual Graduates

UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from University of California - Santa Barbara

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
303 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from University of California - Berkeley

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
510 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from University of California - Santa Cruz

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
482 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from San Jose State University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
879 Annual Graduates

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis.More information about a bachelor’s in psychology from University of California - Davis

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 Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
11 The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
12 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
13 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
14 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
15 Pepperdine University Malibu, CA
16 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA

Best Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 34 2,442
Hawaii 30 371
Oregon 30 1,685
Nevada 30 729
Alaska 29 110

View All Rankings >

Psychology Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 14,881
Child Development & Psychology 3,804
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 341
Other Psychology 127

Notes and References

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