Best Clinical Psychology Grad Programs in California

AIU is a private university with its main campus in San Diego and several satellite campuses throughout the state. AIU offers several options for students interested in clinical psychology, most notably two doctoral degree programs. The PhD in Clinical Psychology is designed for students seeking a career focused primarily on research or academics. The program is available on four California AIU campuses: Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. AIU’s PsyD in clinical psychology prepares graduates for careers in direct clinical practice. The PsyD program is available on five AIU campuses in the state: Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco. Each campus offers its own unique selection of emphasis areas within its PhD and PsyD programs that allow students to further tailor their studies to meet their own professional interests. All AIU clinical psychology programs are accredited by the American Psychological Association and prepare graduates for professional licensure in California and most other states.

Additional clinical psychology degrees in California include a postdoctoral MS in Clinical Psychopharmacology that qualifies licensed psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medications in state and federal jurisdictions where they have prescriptive authority. AIU also offers a Doctoral Respecialization Certificate in Clinical Psychology for individuals with a doctorate in another area of psychology seeking to respecialize in clinical psychology and become license-eligible psychologists. Both the MS and certificate programs are available online.

Cal Lutheran offers two graduate clinical psychology programs in California, starting with its Master of Science of Clinical Psychology. The MS program emphasizes practical research and clinical skills to prepare graduates for direct employment related to program evaluation or measurement of clinical outcomes in healthcare settings. This clinical psychology degree in California is also designed for students intending to continue their studies to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology or a closely related field. The 37- to 40-credit program is available on Cal Lutheran’s campuses in Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, and Westlake Village. Both full-time and part-time formats are available and the entire program can be completed in two to three years.

Also located on the Oxnard campus, Cal Lutheran’s APA-accredited PsyD in Clinical Psychology program combines academic coursework with comprehensive, hands-on clinical training to provide students with the practice and research skills needed to succeed in careers as licensed clinical psychologists. Clinical training in the program is comprised of three components: an internal practicum completed at one of two university-operated clinics (Oxnard and Westlake Village) that provide low-cost counseling services to patients in their communities; an external practicum in which students work with professionals in the field at community partner facilities; and a one-year, full-time or two-year, part-time internship. Among the best clinical psychology programs in California, this 114-credit program is typically completed in five years.

UCLA’s PhD in Clinical Psychology is designed to produce graduates who influence practice, research, and policy development as leaders in the clinical psychology field. The program is six years in length and includes academic coursework, four-and-a-half years of part-time practical placements in the university’s Psychology Clinic or other local agencies, and a one-year, full-time internship. The program culminates with a dissertation presentation and defense. This PhD in clinical psychology program in California is accredited by both the APA and the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).

To be eligible for admission, applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Although a psychology major is not mandatory, a robust background in psychology coursework, including lab courses and classes in research and statistical analysis, is preferred. GRE Psychology Subject Test scores are required. Admission to the program is extremely competitive, with academic performance, formal coursework in psychology, and research experiences and interests serving as the basis for selection. Program costs are consistent with those of comparable programs at other public universities. This program is among California’s premier clinical psychology programs, and it aims to offer some form of financial aid to all students, such as stipends, fellowships, training grants, or program-related employment.

Pepperdine University is a private research university affiliated with the Church of Christ. Through its Graduate School of Education and Psychology located in West Lost Angeles, Pepperdine offers an online MA in Clinical Psychology that prepares students for licensure and careers as LPCs and LMFTs. The course includes online academic coursework and four terms of clinical practicums in which students receive supervised clinical training at an approved site in or near their local communities. The program is designed to ensure that graduates have met all academic requirements for California’s LPC and LMFT licensure examinations. It also prepares students for LPC and/or LMFT licensure in several other states. (See the full state list on the program’s webpage.) The entire clinical psychology program in California can be completed in as few as 27 months.

Admission into the MA in Clinical Psychology program requires a previously earned bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. Other application requirements for this clinical psychology degree in California include two letters of recommendation and a two- to five-page statement of purpose. GRE scores are not required. Students must reside in the United States upon application to and throughout the duration of the MA program. Cohorts begin each winter, spring, summer, and fall.