2025 Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools in California

If you pursue a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #7 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 40 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 5,685 master's degrees in clinical, counseling & applied psychology to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology School for Your Master's Degree

The clinical psychology master'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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

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

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

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

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to clinical, counseling & applied psychology students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for clinical, counseling & applied psychology to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized clinical, counseling & applied psychology related body.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

The clinical 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 Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Master's Degree Schools in California.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology.

10 Top California Schools for a Master's in Clinical Psychology

1

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

140 Annual Graduates

$71,497 Median Starting Salary

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of around $11,940 over the average income of clinical, counseling & applied psychology graduates.

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

2

Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

125 Annual Graduates

$65,541 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Santa Clara University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.

Those clinical, counseling & applied psychology students who get their master's degree from Santa Clara University make $5,984 more than the average clinical psychology grad.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Santa Clara University

3

Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA

674 Annual Graduates

$49,456 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology has to take a look at Pepperdine University. Pepperdine is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Malibu.

Students who graduate with their master's from the clinical psychology program report average early career earnings of $49,456.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Pepperdine University

4

University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

191 Annual Graduates

$65,358 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat University of San Francisco if you wish to pursue a master's degree in clinical, counseling & applied psychology. Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from University of San Francisco earn a boost of about $5,801 over the average earnings of clinical, counseling & applied psychology majors.

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

5

National University
San Diego, CA

1,093 Annual Graduates

$57,834 Median Starting Salary

National University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Diego.

Master's students who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program make about $57,834 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from National University

6

San Diego State University
San Diego, CA

20 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from San Diego State University

7

California Baptist University
Riverside, CA

325 Annual Graduates

$55,299 Median Starting Salary

Cal Baptist is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Riverside.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the clinical psychology program earn an average of $55,299 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from California Baptist University

8

California State University - Monterey Bay
Seaside, CA

18 Annual Graduates

$84,012 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology master's degree recipients from California State University - Monterey Bay earn a boost of approximately $24,455 over the average income of clinical, counseling & applied psychology graduates.

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

9

California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA

50 Annual Graduates

$81,000 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the clinical, counseling & applied psychology program at California State University - Long Beach make $21,443 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

10

Azusa Pacific University
Azusa, CA

62 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in clinical, counseling & applied psychology from Azusa Pacific University

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

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	183	269
Oregon	158	168
Nevada	105	4
Hawaii	85	104
Alaska	52	12

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Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology Related Rankings by Major

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

Clinical Psychology Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Counseling Psychology	1,633
Clinical Psychology	1,285
Applied Behavior Analysis	1,067
School Psychology	706
Forensic Psychology	275
Industrial & Organizational Psychology	253
Applied Psychology	233
Other Psychology & Counseling	112
Educational Psychology	60
Performance and Sport Psychology	24

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
General Psychology	1,327
Other Psychology	272
Child Development & Psychology	205

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.