If you’re interested in pursuing an advanced degree in psychology, California is a great place to do it. After all, it has two extensive public university systems, the University of California and California State University, the latter of which is the largest public four-year higher education system in the U.S. In other words, you have plenty of choices when it comes to getting a Ph.D. or PsyD in psychology.
The question is, which programs offer you the best options for getting your education? While there are many programs to choose from, not all are alike. The programs below are among the most popular in the Golden State. Read on to determine if one of these programs is a good fit for your needs.
Psychology PhD and PsyD Programs in California
Listed below are some of the popular schools offering psychology PhD and PsyD programs in California:
- University of California at Los Angeles
- University of California at Irvine
- University of San Francisco
- Pepperdine University
- National University
- The Chicago School
- University of Arizona Global Campus
To find out how we select colleges and universities, please click here.
University of California at Los Angeles
Clinical Psychology – Ph.D.
UCLA’s APA-accredited clinical psychology program – which culminates in a Ph.D. – is one of the most well-regarded in the nation. It is a highly selective program that accepts only the very best students to learn how to provide clinical psychology services to people in need.
Though this program has a clinical focus, it isn’t the only area in which you’ll gain skills. Instead, you’ll participate in activities that are research-based and empirical. This type of training not only helps you acquire the necessary clinical skills but also the needed research expertise in the field of psychology.
The clinical science training in which you’ll participate is highly demanding and rigorous. On the one hand, you’ll develop as an independent clinical scientist who is fully capable of conducting psychological research. On the other hand, you’ll also learn the various methods of psychological assessment, intervention, and treatment planning that allow you to work with highly diverse populations of clients.
The curriculum is specifically designed to provide you with opportunities to develop this dual expertise in research and clinical activities. For example, over the course of the six-year program, you’ll take coursework in areas such as:
- Psychological Statistics
- Psychological Research Methods
- Foundations of Clinical Psychology
- Professional and Ethical Issues in Clinical Psychology
- Advanced Clinical Assessment
But coursework is just one small component of this program. You must also participate in teacher training and activities. For example, you’ll take Psychology 496, Teacher Training Requirement, during which you’ll learn the ins and outs of teaching university-level coursework. You must also complete two Teaching Assistant assignments, during which time you’ll be responsible for teaching undergraduate and/or graduate-level courses. Naturally, your responsibilities will include typical teaching duties, such as lesson planning, lecturing, grading assignments, and so forth.
As noted earlier, this Ph.D. program also has a significant research component. In fact, your involvement in psychological research is continuous – you’ll begin research activities in the program’s first year and continue your research throughout the duration of the program. The following research-related courses are required:
- Research Methods
- Research Topics
- Directed Individual Research and Study
- Research for Ph.D. Dissertation
Likewise, you’ll take an individual study course, C-Exams/Program of Study Preparation, in which you’ll prepare yourself to take the clinical qualifying exams. This preparation is also beneficial for the preliminary oral dissertation.
Only after you complete the requirements discussed above can you begin the one-year full-time clinical psychology internship. During that time, you’ll participate in full clinical psychology activities under the supervision of an experienced clinical psychologist. Though the duties for which you’re responsible will vary depending on your placement, you can expect to provide individual, couples, and group therapy services in a clinical setting. Furthermore, you’ll be required to participate in supervisory activities with your onsite supervisor.
You must submit all of the following documents when applying:
- A statement of purpose in which you explain your reasoning for applying to this program.
- A personal statement in which you describe your life experiences, accomplishments, and background.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- Unofficial transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
University of California at Irvine
Ph.D. in Psychological Science
The Ph.D. in Psychological Science from the University of California at Irvine offers five specializations: Affective Science, Developmental Psychology, and Health Psychology among them. You can also choose from Social and Personality Psychology and Clinical Psychology. The Clinical Psychology option offers training in clinical science that prepares you to provide services to clients in a therapeutic setting while also making valuable contributions to the field of research in this area.
This program uses the clinical science model of training. This means you’ll acquire the research methods and data analysis skills that, in turn, support your decision-making as a clinician. For example, you’ll become highly familiar with the latest psychological research methods in areas like clinical assessments, which you’ll use to improve your assessment decisions with your clients. As another example, you’ll spend ample time exploring cutting-edge intervention techniques for a wide range of psychological disorders. Again, this will help inform your clinical practice, particularly as it relates to the intervention strategies you utilize to address your client’s presenting problems.
Your training is also highly diverse. In fact, the clinical program is part of the University of California at Irvine’s School of Social Ecology. As such, your training will emphasize a biopsychosocial approach in areas such as physical health, mental health, and community factors. By exploring all of these influences on behavior, you’ll have a much more holistic understanding of how your clients behave and the factors that contribute to their behavior.
As is common of Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology, much of your training will be in the field of research. You’ll have a dedicated faculty member with whom you provide research support. Likewise, your mentor will provide you with the necessary guidance for conducting your own research. You’ll gain expertise in laboratory studies as well as field-based research in community settings. Additionally, you’ll have opportunities to present your research at conferences and publish your work in industry journals. A significant portion of your research training is for the required doctoral dissertation.
You’ll complete these and other training activities over the course of five or six years. In addition to research training and coursework, you must also complete a two-year, part-time practicum in clinical settings in the local community. The purpose of the practicum is to familiarize you with the day-to-day activities of being a clinical psychologist. You’ll complete the practicum in a supervised setting and be provided with guidance and mentorship from an onsite supervisor who will help you hone your skills in preparation for the internship phase of the program.
The one-year clinical internship begins after you pass the comprehensive examination and defend your dissertation. Like the practicum, the internship is an intensive field-based training experience in which you work in a supervised clinical setting, providing services to a diverse range of clients with varying presenting problems. After completing the internship, you’ll earn your Ph.D.
The following criteria must be met to be considered for admission:
- Submit a statement of purpose in which you explain your motivation for graduate study and outline your aptitude for success in this program.
- Provide a personal history statement in which you discuss how your background has informed your decision to pursue graduate study.
- Submit unofficial transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit three letters of recommendation from references who can speak to your academic and professional achievements.
This program is highly competitive. As such, applicants with strong research experience and those who have research interests that align with those of the faculty will be prioritized.
University of San Francisco
Clinical Psychology PsyD Program
The University of San Francisco’s APA-accredited Clinical Psychology PsyD program is yet another popular option worth your consideration. Unlike the Ph.D. programs described above, this PsyD focuses less on research-related activities and more on clinically-based activities in preparation for a career as a clinician.
Given this clinical focus, the coursework prepares you for working with clients of all types. Your clinical training gives you the necessary expertise in therapeutic techniques while also focusing on a comprehensive education in psychological principles. For example, you’ll take a course on Intellectual Assessments that explores both historical and modern trends in this field. You’ll learn how to administer tests like the WAIS while also gaining expertise in integrating data from different assessments to provide a comprehensive picture of an individual’s capabilities.
As another example, you’ll take Clinical Interviewing, which offers an overview of interviewing and counseling skills, as well as a deep dive into relevant counseling theories. The course further offers insights into multicultural clinical skills that enable you to be a more effective clinician when working with people of various races, religions, socioeconomic statuses, and so forth.
Other clinical training occurs in courses such as:
- Personality Assessment
- Integrated Behavioral Health Practice in Primary Care Settings
- Professional Ethics, Laws, and Standards
- Community Psychology and Community Mental Health
- Advanced Psychopathology
The program’s second year shifts focus from clinical training to research experiences. This is when you begin your clinical dissertation preparation. As such, you’ll take courses like Statistics for Social Sciences, Quantitative Methods in Research Design, and Evidence-Based Practice. Furthermore, you’ll get training in Clinical Neuropsychology and Neuropsychological Screening as well as Qualitative Research Design. Training in measurement and analysis is also part of the curriculum.
A series of practicums will be undertaken as well. These experiences allow you to work directly with clients in community settings while being supervised by an experienced clinical psychologist. In addition to getting your feet wet with working directly with clients, you’ll also improve your self-awareness and counseling skills through group supervision. Supervisory activities also include a focus on treatment planning and case conceptualization, as well as the role of collaboration in mental health care.
In amongst the numerous practicums, you’ll also work on your clinical dissertation. The dissertation is an enormous undertaking – years of research and writing will be involved. By completing this activity, you’ll have a better understanding of current research in this field and also have a better understanding of who you are as a clinician.
The program’s final component is the full-time clinical internship. The internship typically occurs in the fifth year of your studies and offers you a detailed and rigorous clinical experience during which you provide services to an array of clients. During this year-long experience, you are required to accumulate at least 1,500 hours of clinical work, which is applied toward licensure as a clinical psychologist in California.
The program’s application requirements are as follows:
- Complete an online application and pay the relevant application fee.
- Have a bachelor’s degree or higher in psychology from an accredited college or university. The degree must have been conferred within the last seven years. Alternatively, you can have a bachelor’s degree in any field so long as you completed three of the following classes with a grade of B or higher:
- Research Methods
- Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology
- Lifespan Development
- Theories of Personality or Theories of Psychotherapy
- Have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Provide three letters of recommendation, at least two of which are from academic references.
- Provide a curriculum vitae.
- Submit a personal statement of interest in which you reflect on your goals as a licensed psychologist.
Pepperdine University
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
Pepperdine’s APA-accredited PsyD in Clinical Psychology prepares you for a career as a licensed psychologist. The program uses the practitioner-scholar model of training, which means you’ll take part in academic, clinical, and research-related activities during your time in the program. All told, you’ll complete three years of coursework and supervised training, which is followed by a year-long internship. A dissertation is further required.
The course list reveals how multifaceted your training will be. On the one hand, you’ll take research-related courses, such as Research Methods in Clinical Psychology and Data Analysis and Empirical Research. These and other research-related courses inform you of best practices in this field while also giving you the opportunity to develop advanced research skills in preparation for your dissertation work.
On the other hand, you’ll complete a slate of courses designed to boost your clinical skills. For example, you’ll take Psychometrics and Measurement Construction as a means of learning how to use psychological assessments to inform your practice. Furthermore, you’ll take classes such as Cognitive Assessment, Personality Assessment, and Advanced Psychological Assessment to round out your training and abilities.
Many of the courses you’ll take focus on non-clinical knowledge. These classes include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Sociocultural Foundations of Behavior
- Cognitive-Affective Foundations of Behavior
- Developmental Foundations of Clinical Psychology
- History and Systems of Clinical Psychology
- Biological Foundations of Behavior
While these courses don’t specifically focus on clinical practice, the knowledge you acquire in each will positively impact your ability to be a successful clinician. For example, understanding how sociocultural, biological, and cognitive factors affect human behavior is crucial for you to understand as you develop case conceptualizations and treatment plans.
Of course, many clinically-focused classes are also required. You’ll take Interviewing and Intake Evaluation, for example, which examines the processes and procedures for getting baseline information from a new client. Having effective interviewing and intake skills is an important component of providing the best care–your ability to give your clients the best treatment depends on your understanding of their presenting problem.
You’ll also take classes like Group Interventions. Courses like these help you more clearly define your role as a clinician. After all, the manner in which you lead a group in therapy is functionally different from working one-on-one with a client. Of course, other classes help you refine your clinical abilities, too, including the following:
- Theories and Techniques
- Behavioral Foundations in Clinical Psychology: Assessment and Intervention
- Advanced Clinical Psychopathology
- Foundations of Conceptualization and Psychotherapy in a Multicultural Context
- Interventions with Children and Adolescents
As is the case with doctoral-level training in psychology, this program also includes a significant field experience component. For example, you’ll complete numerous clinical practicum experiences that focus on areas like clinical skills, case conceptualization, assessment, and treatment planning. As you progress through the program, the practicum experiences will focus more on clinical supervision and consultation in preparation for the doctoral internship.
The internship is a year-long clinical experience in which you work in a supervised clinical psychology setting. Your supervisor will be responsible for mentoring you and providing supervision and guidance that will help you build improved skills and address any areas of weakness. You’ll get experience working with many different types of clients and clients of all ages. You’ll likewise work with clients with any number of presenting issues, from personality disorders to mood disorders to psychotic disorders.
The admission requirements are as follows:
- Submit the application form.
- Have a bachelor’s and master’s degree from an accredited college or university.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Provide two letters of recommendation, one of which is from an academic reference and another that is from a professional reference.
- Complete a 5 to 8-page personal statement in which you discuss, among other things, your life experiences, why you’re a good fit for this program, and current areas of professional interest.
- Submit a curriculum vitae or resume.
- Submit a clinical and research experience form.
Select applicants will be invited to participate in an interview with the PsyD admissions committee as well.
University of Arizona Global Campus
Online Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Earn a PsyD from the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) and positively impact the emotional and mental well-being of those around you. This online degree program provides a thorough understanding of the history and systems of psychology while allowing you to specialize in an area that aligns with your career and research interests.
Earning a doctorate in psychology is a significant step for those who seek to bring meaningful change to society by enhancing mental health and well-being.
The PsyD program at UAGC is not a licensure program. Instead, this program is designed for individuals aiming to become practitioners in fields such as criminal justice, mediation and conflict resolution, sport and performance psychology, industrial organizational psychology, and other related areas that focus on improving emotional and mental health while serving the community. The program concludes with an Applied Doctoral Project, allowing you to make a personal contribution to the field of practice and scholarship.
This program prepares you for a wide range of careers that require a thorough understanding of the human mind. You’ll build your knowledge base by studying the history and systems of psychology while tailoring your PsyD degree to your specific career and research interests through the selection of a specialization.
This program is designed for individuals who wish to concentrate on disciplines such as Criminal Justice, Mediation and Conflict Resolution, Sport and Performance Psychology, Industrial Organizational Psychology, and other areas that share a focus on serving the community by improving.
Upon completing the program, you’ll be able to:
- Apply best practices in psychology, including professional values, ethics, attitudes, and behaviors.
- Demonstrate an understanding of cultural diversity and incorporate it into professional work with individuals, groups, and communities from diverse backgrounds.
- Utilize a thorough knowledge of psychology grounded in theoretical models, evidence-based methods, and research.
- Develop leadership skills relevant to the field of psychology.
- Evaluate critically the methods, trends, and concepts in applied psychology research.
PsyD graduates are qualified to work in a variety of settings, including mental health, education, business, health care, counseling, and social and human services. Additionally, if you have gained several years of experience in business and industry, you may pursue roles in consulting and marketing research.
This program is offered 100% online, enabling you to balance your academic work with your personal and professional responsibilities.
To apply, you must provide verification of your proficiency in the English language, either through a bachelor’s degree earned in English or by completing an English proficiency test. Additionally, you are required to hold a master’s degree from an approved accredited institution with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
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