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2025 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools in California

42 Colleges in California
6,805 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
$54,163 Avg Early-Career Salary
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #33 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 42 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Combined, these schools handed out 6,805 degrees in clinical, counseling & applied psychology to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology School

Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools in California Your choice of clinical, counseling & applied psychology school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for clinical, counseling & applied 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.

Pick Your Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Degree Level

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied 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 Clinical, Counseling & Applied 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 clinical psychology degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in Clinical Psychology

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
118 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
1.7% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in clinical, counseling & applied psychology needs to check out University of Southern California. 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 #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 118 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology degree recipients from University of Southern California get an earnings boost of around $17,334 over the typical income of clinical, counseling & applied psychology majors.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of Southern California

2
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
6.7% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in clinical, counseling & applied psychology needs to take a look at Santa Clara University. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #53 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were about 105 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology major at Santa Clara University earn $11,378 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Santa Clara University

Sponsored
Bachelors Degree Type
BA in Psychology Program Name

Advance in your human services or psychology career, or prepare for graduate studies in a variety of fields at Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in BA in Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
663 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
21.1% Growth in Graduates

Pepperdine University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Pepperdine is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Malibu. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Pepperdine is a great university overall.

There were about 663 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at Pepperdine in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program earn around $54,983 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Pepperdine University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
208 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
16.8% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat University of California - San Diego if you wish to pursue a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were about 208 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program make an average of $26,953 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of California - San Diego

5
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
176 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
$65,358 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #152 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.

There were approximately 176 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent year we have data available. Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their degree from University of San Francisco make $11,195 more than the typical clinical psychology graduate.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from University of San Francisco

6
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,047 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
3.8% Growth in Graduates

National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego. This university ranks 37th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 1047 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology major at National University make $3,671 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from National University

7
Pacific Graduate School of Psychology crest
Palo Alto University
Palo Alto, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
198 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
3.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the rural area of Palo Alto, Pacific Graduate School of Psychology is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

There were about 198 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in the most recent year we have data available. Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their degree from Palo Alto University make $9,340 more than the average clinical psychology grad.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Palo Alto University

Sponsored
Masters Degree Type
MS in Psychology Program Name

Our Master of Science in Psychology program is designed to extend your knowledge and discipline in psychology, preparing you for a wide variety of professions and contexts.

More information about a degree in MS in Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
299 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
33.8% Growth in Graduates

Cal Baptist is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Riverside. This university ranks 66th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 299 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at Cal Baptist in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program earn around $55,299 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from California Baptist University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
50th Most Popular In CA

Located in the suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 72nd out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 16 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at CSUMB in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from California State University - Monterey Bay

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Clinical Psychology Degrees Awarded
19.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 36th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 51 clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology major at California State University - Long Beach get $26,837 more than the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from California State University - Long Beach

Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 432
Oregon 266 373
Nevada 192 23
Hawaii 164 122
Alaska 119 24

View All Rankings >

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology is one of 24 different types of Psychology programs to choose from.

Clinical Psychology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Clinical Psychology 1,999
Counseling Psychology 1,537
Applied Behavior Analysis 1,257
School Psychology 690
Industrial & Organizational Psychology 331
Forensic Psychology 323
Applied Psychology 285
Other Psychology & Counseling 142
Educational Psychology 99
Health/Medical Psychology 80

View All Clinical Psychology Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 30,073
Child Development & Psychology 4,266
Other Psychology 489

View All Clinical Psychology Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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