Psychology Master’s Degree Programs in California

The Golden State is a big state in ways that outsiders don’t always fully appreciate. With the 5th largest economy in the world, and a population of nearly 40 million, it’s no surprise that it also supports more than 70 schools with master’s programs in psychology.

It’s no surprise that demand for the service of psychology professionals is high, either. Everyone is climbing the ladder, it seems, from Silicon Valley to Hollywood, and there’s a lot of stress that goes along with life in a place where the cost of living is skyrocketing, environmental concerns are growing more acute and everyone is scrambling to keep up. California has the highest number of practicing psychologists in the country and expects that number to grow by almost 15 percent in the coming years.

And the big numbers don’t stop at employment: salaries are also among the highest in the country for psychologists here. It’s a good time to be a psychologist in California, and you can be a part of it with a master’s degree.

Rich In History And Forging Into the Future, California Psychology Schools Have It All

Psychology in California has a rich history, from Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs theory to the Stanford Prison Experiment. Good and bad, California universities have been at the forefront of new developments in the field.

With so many degree programs to choose from, you have a lot of flexibility both in where you attend and what you can specialize in. From UCLA to Stanford to tiny California Baptist University, there’s no shortage of options for online, on-campus, and blended programs that combine distance based study with on-campus intensives.

Licensing Is A Must In One of The Most Regulated States in The Nation

California is known for a stiff regulatory environment, and that reputation follows through in the psychological services licensing regime. As with other states, to become a practicing clinical psychologist in California, you’ll need to go past a master’s and earn a doctoral degree in the field.

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But when it comes to becoming a school psychologist in the state, a master’s is sufficient as long as you pass the state’s basic skills requirement. With a master’s degree in your back pocket, you can also become a licensed professional clinical counselor or a marriage and family therapist in California.

Practicing Social Psychology In The Nation’s Biggest Melting Pot

They come to California from all over… the Pacific Rim, South America, the East Coast, Canada. Almost 2 million people arrived in the state between 2000 and 2009, a blend of cultures, attitudes, and interests like nowhere else in the world.

It’s a massive social experiment– one that demands expertise in social justice and real knowledge in action to deal with friction in the public space. That’s exactly the approach taken by professionals at the UC Santa Cruz Department of Psychology, a great place to take part in cutting edge research in social psychology.

Neuropsychology and Research Are Thriving in California

If a cure for Alzheimer’s emerges, it might well be discovered in Sacramento. As part of an ongoing University of California-Davis research program funded by the National Institute on Aging, scientists and graduate students are diving into the brain structures and behaviors of the disease in an effort to both treat and understand it.

TheUC Davis program in clinical neuropsychology is one of the most advanced in the state, but many other schools here are combining medical and psychological investigations to pursue breakthroughs at the intersection of brain science and psychology.

High-Tech Firms Demand Quantitative Psychology at the Cutting Edge

When the story broke in March of 2018 that researchers for the private firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested personal data from Facebook accounts for political influence campaigns, it was bad news for the Menlo Park-based social network. The story got even worse when it was revealed that Facebook itself had hired one of the researchers involved in the scandal.

But the scandal is simply a sign of how important quantitative psychology has become to big internet media companies. Psychologists who have been well-trained in law and ethics are in big demand in California. In November of 2018, Google alone listed more than 500 job openings for psychologists.

UCLA’s graduate major in quantitative psychology is one of the leading programs in the state to get that training and to make connections with leading companies in the field.

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists Have Plenty of Work in a Big State

As the most populous U.S. state, California just straight up has a lot of people packed into it. And a lot of people mean a lot of relationships, a lot of human pathos and tragedy… which means a lot of demand for clinical and counseling psychology services.

TheCalifornia School of Professional Psychology, with campuses in Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and elsewhere, offers time-tested and proven degree programs focused on clinical counseling and therapies.

If your dream is a career in psychology, earning a master’s degree at a school here is a big step in making it come true.

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Featured California Psychology Degree Programs