Best Psychology Programs in California for 2027

The University of California-Los Angeles has you declare the psychology pre-major first and enter the Psychology BA only after finishing seven preparation courses and, for students who start as first-years, applying to the major, with entry guaranteed at a 2.9 GPA or higher in the preparation courses. Preparation covers Introductory Psychology, Psychological Statistics and Research Methods in Psychology, plus one course each in calculus, chemistry or physics, life or physiological science, philosophy, and computing or statistics. The major is 10 courses: five core courses from areas such as learning, behavioral neuroscience, cognition, clinical science, development and social psychology, one laboratory or fieldwork course and four upper-division electives. A one-year honors program with a faculty-sponsored thesis is open to students planning graduate study.

Preparation

Introductory Psychology, Psychological Statistics, Research Methods in Psychology, and one course each in calculus, chemistry or physics, life or physiological science, philosophy, and computing or statistics.

Core Courses

Five from twelve options, including Fundamentals of Learning, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology and Introduction to Health Psychology.

Laboratory or Fieldwork

One course such as Learning Laboratory, Clinical Psychology Laboratory or Laboratory in Functional Neuroimaging.

Electives

Four upper-division psychology courses (16 units) taken for a letter grade.

Honors

A year-long research project with a faculty sponsor, a formal honors thesis and a weekly seminar.

Program Sources: Psychology BA - UCLA General Catalog 2026-27

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s psychology BS requires internship coursework as well as a senior project seminar and project. You can meet the internship requirement through research or supervised fieldwork courses, connecting the degree with either a laboratory or an applied setting. The core includes advanced research methods and multicultural psychology. A separate professional-skills requirement offers choices such as teamwork, the helping relationship, or intercultural communication, so practical preparation continues beyond the internship itself.

Required Experience

Complete six internship units through research or supervised fieldwork courses.

Senior Work

A senior project seminar and senior project are both required.

Program Sources: Psychology (BS) | Cal Poly Academic Catalog

San Diego State requires 31 upper-division psychology units, including either Introduction to Research Methods or Laboratory in Experimental Psychology. Students also complete courses across four breadth groups and use the remaining units for advanced electives. An Industrial-Organizational emphasis adds personnel psychology, organizational psychology, and psychological testing and measurement. The emphasis has course-grade prerequisites for testing, so students interested in workplace applications need to plan their methods and statistics sequence carefully.

Upper-Division Study

31 psychology units across methods, breadth groups, and electives.

Workplace Emphasis

Personnel psychology, organizational psychology, and psychological testing.

Program Sources: Psychology BA — SDSUPsychology BA With Industrial-Organizational Emphasis

SDSU's psychology MA is a 30-unit research degree with a faculty mentor assigned when you enter. You work in that mentor's laboratory while developing a thesis proposal, obtain committee approval before collecting data, and finish with an oral defense. The curriculum includes two advanced statistics courses and advanced research methods, plus choices in neuropsychology, developmental science, social psychology, and cognition. A further requirement draws from psychological measurement or neuroscience, giving the degree a substantial methodological core alongside your individual research topic.

Research Requirement

Faculty-mentored thesis with committee approval and oral defense.

Methods Core

Two advanced statistics courses and advanced research methods.

Program Sources: M.A. Program Requirements – Department of Psychology

Cal State Long Beach's Psychological Research MA is a two-year, full-time program built around a research thesis. Graduate seminars enroll no more than 15 students and cover areas including cognition, health, development, social psychology, and quantitative methods. Applicants identify one to three potential faculty mentors and explain how their research interests connect. Intermediate statistics is a prerequisite that may be completed in the first fall semester with departmental approval. The mentor relationship guides laboratory experience and thesis development throughout the program.

Study Format

Two years of full-time study with a research thesis.

Seminar Size

Graduate seminars enroll no more than 15 students.

Program Sources: Master of Arts in Psychological Research | California State University Long Beach

San Francisco State's Social, Personality, and Affective Science concentration combines 34 units of coursework with a thesis. The two-year sequence connects academic study with supervised laboratory and field research, examining how personality, social settings, and emotion shape behavior. Faculty interests include adolescent identity and discrimination, digital literacy, and changes in beliefs. Applicants can come from psychology or other scientific backgrounds, including statistics and computer science, bringing different methods to the study of human behavior.

Concentration

Social, Personality, and Affective Science.

Research Training

34 coursework units with supervised laboratory and field research and a thesis.

Program Sources: Social, Personality, and Affective Science Psychology Graduate Concentration | Department of Psychology

UCLA organizes doctoral study around seven major areas, including health, quantitative, and behavioral neuroscience alongside clinical, cognitive, developmental, and social psychology. Students work with an assigned adviser and undergo annual reviews of their progress. Research methods and theory requirements lead to an area examination, an oral qualifying examination, and an original dissertation. Some areas offer more specialized major options, including computational cognition and social and affective neuroscience. Admission is to full-time doctoral study; a master’s can be earned along the way.

Research Areas

Seven major areas, including health, quantitative, and behavioral neuroscience.

Progress Reviews

An assigned adviser and annual progress reviews throughout doctoral study.

Program Sources: Psychology PhDPsychology Graduate Admission Requirements

UC Davis requires doctoral students to build statistical depth alongside an individual research project that begins in the first year. Three statistics courses cover measurement, experimental and correlational analysis, and multivariate methods. Students also complete graduate coursework outside their specialization and an advanced inquiry requirement that develops expertise relevant to their research. The individual project must produce a publishable report before the oral qualifying examination; dissertation research follows that assessment of the student’s readiness for independent scholarship.

Statistics Sequence

Three courses including measurement, experimental analysis, and multivariate methods.

Early Research

A project begins in the first year and produces a publishable report before oral qualification.

Program Sources: Psychology PhD

Sierra College's Psychology AA-T requires psychology, statistics, and research methods, then asks for a biological-science choice that can include a biopsychology laboratory. Later options include Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Cultural Psychology, and a course on navigating the major and its careers. Sierra also lists a separate local Psychology AA or AS, so the transfer credential is a distinct plan rather than the only associate route. The lab and career-course options let students add practical depth while preparing for upper-division psychology study.

Science Option

Biopsychology with laboratory available

Degree Choices

AA-T or local AA/AS

Program Sources: Sierra College Psychology Catalog

Pasadena City College's Psychology AA-T makes research methods and a statistics course part of the core, then offers a choice of biological psychology or biology with lab. Its development options distinguish child, adult, and lifespan psychology; later electives include African American, Asian American, and Chicano/a Psychology. Those courses give students ways to study development and cultural context before transfer. The catalog also lists an honors version of introductory psychology and a program mapper, both useful for shaping the first two years around a particular receiving campus.

Development Options

Child, adult, or lifespan

Cultural Topics

African American, Asian American, Chicano/a Psychology

Program Sources: Pasadena City College Psychology AA-T Catalog