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2025 Best General Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

60 Colleges in California
15,336 Bachelor's Degrees
$31,060 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in general psychology, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #3 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 60 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of general psychology. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 15,336 bachelor's degrees in general psychology during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great General Psychology School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best General Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California The psychology bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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

More Ways to Rank General Psychology Schools

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

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 General Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

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

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for general psychology students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

12 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Psychology

1
685 Annual Graduates
$30,614 Median Starting Salary
$19,882 Median Student Debt

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in general psychology. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduating, psychology bachelor's recipients usually earn about $30,614 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from University of California - Los Angeles

2
457 Annual Graduates
$27,115 Median Starting Salary
$17,546 Median Student Debt

University of California - Irvine is a good choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in general psychology. UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Irvine.

Soon after graduation, psychology bachelor's recipients generally earn about $27,115 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from University of California - Irvine

3
189 Annual Graduates
$34,139 Median Starting Salary
$46,350 Median Student Debt

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in general psychology. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Those general psychology students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California receive $3,079 more than the typical psychology student.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from University of Southern California

4

University of California - Santa Cruz is a good choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in general psychology. UC Santa Cruz is a large public university located in the small city of Santa Cruz.

Soon after graduating, psychology bachelor's recipients usually make around $30,730 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from University of California - Santa Cruz

5
350 Annual Graduates
$29,144 Median Starting Salary
$12,000 Median Student Debt

UCSD is a very large public university located in the city of La Jolla.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the psychology program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,144.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from University of California - San Diego

6
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
115 Annual Graduates
$38,587 Median Starting Salary
$76,036 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

General Psychology bachelor's degree recipients from Santa Clara University receive an earnings boost of approximately $7,527 above the average income of general psychology graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from Santa Clara University

7
646 Annual Graduates
$29,346 Median Starting Salary
$29,500 Median Student Debt

SDSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Diego.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the psychology program make an average of $29,346 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from San Diego State University

8

CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Long Beach.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the psychology program state that they receive average early career income of $27,511.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from California State University - Long Beach

9
992 Annual Graduates
$27,965 Median Starting Salary
$10,418 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the psychology program make an average of $27,965 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from California State University - Fullerton

10
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
120 Annual Graduates
$36,734 Median Starting Salary
$69,178 Median Student Debt

USFCA is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco.

Bachelor's recipients from the general psychology major at University of San Francisco get $5,674 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from University of San Francisco

11

Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, psychology bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $28,603 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from California State University - Northridge

12
120 Annual Graduates
$32,435 Median Starting Salary
$28,359 Median Student Debt

Azusa Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Azusa.

Soon after graduation, psychology bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $32,435 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in general psychology from Azusa Pacific University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for General Psychology students in the state of California that almost earned our Best General Psychology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
13 Pepperdine University Malibu, CA
14 California State University - San Marcos San Marcos, CA
15 University of San Diego San Diego, CA
16 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
17 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
18 California State University - Monterey Bay Seaside, CA
19 California State University - Chico Chico, CA
20 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA

Best General Psychology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 1,675
Oregon 185 1,582
Nevada 129 728
Hawaii 112 371
Alaska 75 99

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

Psychology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Psychology 15,336

Related Major Annual Graduates
Child Development & Psychology 4,337
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 438
Other Psychology 133

Notes and References

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