California has 20 APA-accredited PsyD programs in clinical psychology, spread across campuses from Berkeley to San Diego. Most run four to five years and require a one-year full-time internship. Many are designed to meet California Board of Psychology education requirements, though applicants should confirm current standards with the board.
California has more APA-accredited doctoral psychology programs than any other state. The listings here cover PsyD programs only. If you’re also weighing the research-focused route, our companion page covers Psychology PhD Programs in California.
PsyD vs. PhD: Which Degree Is Right for You?
Both the PsyD and PhD lead to licensure as a psychologist, and both require passing the EPPP (the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology), the national licensing exam recognized by state boards across the country. Where they differ is in emphasis. A PhD follows the scientist-practitioner model: research-weighted training, often funded through teaching or research assistantships. A PsyD follows the practitioner-scholar model: clinical-weighted training, fewer research requirements, and a more direct path to full-time clinical work.
If clinical practice is your goal and running a research lab isn’t part of the plan, the PsyD gets you there efficiently. If research, publication, or academic faculty positions are on your radar, the PhD is the stronger fit. Neither degree is the lesser option. See our full PsyD vs. PhD breakdown if you’re still working through that decision.
California PsyD Programs at a Glance
All programs listed below are accredited by the APA Commission on Accreditation. Two programs hold contingency status, noted below. School names link to full program sections.
| School | Degree | Focus | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alliant University – Fresno | PsyD | Clinical (Child, Forensic, Health tracks) | Fresno, CA |
| Alliant University – Los Angeles | PsyD | Clinical (Multicultural, Health, Family/Child) | Alhambra, CA |
| Alliant University – Sacramento | PsyD | Clinical (Diverse Populations, Health Settings) | Sacramento, CA |
| Alliant University – San Diego | PsyD | Clinical (Clinical Expertise and Scholarship) | San Diego, CA |
| Alliant University – San Francisco Bay | PsyD | Clinical (Multicultural, Field-Placement Intensive) | Emeryville, CA |
| Azusa Pacific University | PsyD | Clinical (Family Psychology, Faith Integration) | Azusa, CA |
| Biola University | PsyD | Clinical (Christian Integration) | La Mirada, CA |
| California Baptist University | PsyD | Clinical (Faith Integration, Multicultural) | Riverside, CA |
| California Lutheran University | PsyD | Clinical (Social Justice, Serving Underserved) | Oxnard, CA |
| California Northstate University | PsyD | Clinical (Generalist, Diverse Populations) | Rancho Cordova, CA |
| The Chicago School – Anaheim | PsyD | Clinical (Child/Adolescent, Forensic, Neuropsychology) | Anaheim, CA |
| The Chicago School – Los Angeles | PsyD | Clinical (Child/Adolescent, Health, Neuropsychology) | Los Angeles, CA |
| Fuller Theological Seminary | PsyD | Clinical (Neuropsychology or Culture and Community) | Pasadena, CA |
| Loma Linda University | PsyD | Clinical (Health Sciences Context) | Loma Linda, CA |
| Mount Saint Mary’s University | PsyD | Clinical (Latinx Mental Health, Multicultural) ⚑ | Los Angeles, CA |
| National University – JFK School | PsyD | Clinical (Multicultural, Forensic, Neuropsychology) | Pleasant Hill, CA |
| Palo Alto University | PsyD | Clinical (PAU-Stanford Consortium) | Palo Alto, CA |
| Pepperdine University | PsyD | Clinical (Multicultural, Evidence-Based Practice) | Los Angeles, CA |
| University of La Verne | PsyD | Clinical (Community Service Foundation) | La Verne, CA |
| The Wright Institute | PsyD | Clinical (Social Justice, Community Psychology) | Berkeley, CA |
⚑ Accredited on contingency: California Baptist University and Mount Saint Mary’s University hold APA accreditation on contingency status, meaning the Commission has judged the programs consistent with accreditation standards while outcome data is still being collected. Contingency status is widely accepted for California licensure purposes.
Alliant University – Fresno
The Fresno campus of Alliant’s California School of Professional Psychology is located in the San Joaquin Valley. Training here emphasizes serving diverse client populations within a social justice orientation, and the campus operates the only APA-accredited psychology training program in the Central Valley region.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program trains students for clinical practice and advocacy using a practitioner-scholar model. Students choose one or more specialization tracks: Ecosystemic Child Psychology, Clinical Forensic Psychology, or Health Psychology. Campus-based practicum experience is available at the on-site Psychological Services Center. Fourth-year students complete a full-time one-year internship of up to 2,080 hours.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Fresno, CA | Program website
Alliant University – Los Angeles
The Alliant LA campus is located in Alhambra, in the western San Gabriel region of Los Angeles County. The California School of Professional Psychology here has a shared emphasis on multiculturalism and mentoring across its graduate programs.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program prepares practitioners to deliver psychological services across diverse populations. Students choose a primary emphasis from Multicultural Community-Clinical Psychology, Clinical Health Psychology, or Family/Child and Couple Psychology, with a Multi-Interest option also available. The program runs for four years and concludes with a full-time internship in a clinical mental health setting.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Alhambra, CA | Program website
Alliant University – Sacramento
Alliant’s Sacramento campus is located in California’s capital city. The California School of Professional Psychology reports that across all its California campuses, it has trained more than half of the currently licensed psychologists practicing in the state.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The Sacramento PsyD follows a practitioner-scholar model, with training focused on applying research knowledge to clinical practice with diverse populations across health settings. Students complete a minimum of 90 academic units over three years full-time, or four years part-time, plus 30 internship units completed over one year full-time during the fourth or fifth year.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Sacramento, CA | Program website
Alliant University – San Diego
The Alliant San Diego campus is located in Scripps Ranch in the northeastern part of the city and is the largest of the Alliant California campuses by enrollment.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The San Diego program places a dual emphasis on clinical expertise and clinical scholarship, training psychologists skilled in delivering advocacy services to diverse communities. Students complete 120 units covering statistics, personality theory, psychopathology, assessment and evaluation, integrative psychology, and multiculturalism. The curriculum includes a clinical pre-dissertation group, dissertation seminar, and clinical internship.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
San Diego, CA | Program website
Alliant University – San Francisco Bay
The Alliant San Francisco Bay campus is located in Emeryville, in the East Bay. The California School of Professional Psychology here places particular emphasis on field placements, giving students access to a broad range of culturally diverse clinical settings across the Bay Area.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
Clinical training placements begin in the first year and build progressively, with students trained in multiple methods of assessment and intervention for multicultural populations across varied settings. Students begin a clinical dissertation in the second year. A one-year full-time internship is completed in the fourth year.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Emeryville, CA | Program website
Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University is a private evangelical Christian institution located about 26 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The School of Behavioral and Applied Sciences trains doctoral students who approach clinical practice within a faith-integrated framework.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program emphasizes Family Psychology and uses a practitioner-scholar model connecting psychological theory to clinical practice across healthcare settings. Students complete 133 semester units over five to six years. Two entry pathways are available: one for students who already hold a master’s degree in psychology, and one for those entering directly from a bachelor’s degree. The program is structured to meet the California Board of Psychology’s education requirements for licensure as a clinical psychologist.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Azusa, CA | Program website
Biola University
Biola University is a private Christian institution in La Mirada, near Los Angeles. The Rosemead School of Psychology focuses on integrating a Christian worldview with the research-driven study of human behavior and psychological practice.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program prepares students for clinical work or leadership roles in research, addressing the whole person within that integrated framework. Students complete 133 semester hours over four to five years. The five-unit research component can be fulfilled through a dissertation or a year-long doctoral research seminar paired with a proficiency examination on clinical research methods.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
La Mirada, CA | Program website
California Baptist University
California Baptist University is a private evangelical Christian institution in Riverside, in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. The Division of Psychology offers doctoral training that integrates psychological science with a Christian worldview and community service orientation.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The practitioner-scholar program runs for five years, with coursework primarily scheduled in evenings and weekends to accommodate working students. Training emphasizes integrating psychological science with the Christian faith across six competency clusters: professionalism, relationships, science, application (assessment, intervention, consultation), supervision, and systems. The fifth year is devoted to a full-time 12-month clinical internship. The program holds APA accreditation on contingency status.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation (accredited, on contingency)
Riverside, CA | Program website
California Lutheran University
California Lutheran University is a private institution in Ventura County, affiliated with the Lutheran Church but open to students of all backgrounds and faiths. The Graduate School of Psychology is located at the Oxnard campus and runs cohort-based doctoral training with a strong social justice orientation.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program requires 114 credit hours and is structured for five-year completion. Students train in cohorts of roughly 17, with clinical placements available at the on-site Community Counseling Center and through an external placement network. The program requires 1,200 practicum hours plus a 1,500-hour full-time internship. Training emphasizes diversity, equity, and serving underserved populations.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Oxnard, CA | Program website
California Northstate University
California Northstate University is a private health sciences institution in Rancho Cordova, in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Its College of Psychology is dedicated exclusively to doctoral-level clinical training.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program runs five years: four years of full-time residency at the Rancho Cordova campus, followed by a one-year pre-doctoral internship that can be completed nationally. Clinical training is available through more than 70 practicum sites and the on-site CNU Community Counseling and Psychological Services (CCAPS) clinic.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Rancho Cordova, CA | Program website
The Chicago School – Anaheim
The Chicago School is a nonprofit university dedicated to psychology and behavioral health training. Its Anaheim campus is located in Orange County and offers one of only a few APA-accredited PsyD programs in the Southern California region outside of Los Angeles proper.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The practitioner-scholar program trains students for generalist health service psychology practice across diverse communities. Students can pursue optional specialty areas in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, or Forensic Psychology. Practicum experiences are arranged through the Office of Applied Professional Practice across a range of Southern California training sites.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Anaheim, CA | Program website
The Chicago School – Los Angeles
The Chicago School’s Los Angeles campus is located in downtown LA’s Wilshire corridor. It offers practitioner-scholar training with a focus on serving diverse communities across the Los Angeles Basin.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program prepares students for generalist clinical practice while offering optional major areas of study in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Clinical Health Psychology, or Clinical Neuropsychology. Students gain supervised clinical experience through a broad network of Los Angeles-area practicum sites spanning community mental health, hospital, school, and forensic settings.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Los Angeles, CA | Program website
Fuller Theological Seminary
Fuller Theological Seminary is based in Pasadena. Its School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy is among the oldest seminary-based clinical psychology programs and was the first seminary program to receive full APA accreditation.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program uses a practitioner-scholar model, training students to provide psychotherapy, assessment services, and innovative treatment programs across varied settings. Students choose between two specialization tracks: Neuropsychology, which emphasizes brain-behavior relationships and clinical neuropsychology training, and Culture and Community, which focuses on coursework and clinical experiences with specific ethnocultural and community groups. Students earn an MA in Psychology after completing 88 selected units. Clinical experience is gained at Fuller Psychological and Family Services, the campus clinic, and through placements across the greater Los Angeles area.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Pasadena, CA | Program website
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University is a Seventh-day Adventist institution in Loma Linda, Southern California, devoted entirely to health sciences. The School of Behavioral Health situates doctoral psychology training within that broader health sciences context.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The practitioner-scholar program builds scientific foundations alongside progressive clinical training. Supervised clinical placements begin at the end of the first year and expand across years two through four, spanning the university’s psychology clinic, LLU Medical Center, community mental health centers, VA hospitals, and forensic settings. The fifth year is a full-time pre-doctoral internship. Students can pursue optional specializations in health psychology, neuropsychology, or clinical child psychology.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Loma Linda, CA | Program website
Mount Saint Mary’s University
Mount Saint Mary’s University is a Catholic liberal arts institution in Los Angeles, founded in the tradition of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The PsyD program draws on that mission, with a particular emphasis on cultural humility and serving communities with limited access to mental health care.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The practitioner-scholar program includes two emphases: one centered on serving Spanish-speaking clients, and a second addressing broader multicultural and Latinx mental health needs. Students complete a pre-internship dissertation and a full-time clinical internship in the final year. The program holds APA accreditation on contingency status, awarded in May 2024.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation (accredited, on contingency)
Los Angeles, CA | Program website
National University – JFK School of Psychology
National University’s JFK School of Psychology and Social Sciences operates at the former John F. Kennedy University campus in Pleasant Hill, in the San Francisco East Bay. The program traces its lineage directly to the JFKU PsyD program, which began in 1996 and maintained APA accreditation through the university’s closure. National University formally integrated the faculty, curriculum, and mission in January 2020 and received new APA accreditation for this program in March 2024.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program has a defining emphasis on multicultural and diversity competence, woven through every course. Students may also pursue specialized coursework in forensic/correctional psychology, neuropsychology, or integrated health psychology. The program runs on a quarter system, with all classes held in person at the Pleasant Hill campus. Students typically complete the program in five to seven years.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Pleasant Hill, CA | Program website
Palo Alto University
Palo Alto University is a private psychology-focused institution in Palo Alto, near Stanford. Its doctoral PsyD program operates as the PAU-Stanford PsyD Consortium, a formal collaboration with Stanford University School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and draws faculty from both institutions.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The consortium requires four full-time academic years at Palo Alto University plus a fifth year consisting of a 2,000-hour APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship. Students are trained by faculty from both PAU and Stanford, with practicum placements at sites including Stanford Hospital, VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Kaiser Permanente, and Bay Area community clinics. The PsyD degree is conferred by Palo Alto University.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Palo Alto, CA | Program website
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) is located in West Los Angeles. Applicants to the PsyD must have completed a master’s degree in psychology or a related field prior to admission.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The practitioner-scholar program combines three years of clinically relevant coursework and supervised training with a one-year clinical internship and a clinical dissertation. Clinical training begins in the first year. The program emphasizes multicultural competence, evidence-based practice, and ethical decision-making. A fifth year may be required for students who opt for the two-year, half-time internship pathway.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Los Angeles, CA | Program website
University of La Verne
The University of La Verne is a private comprehensive institution in La Verne, east of Los Angeles. Its PsyD program draws on the university’s longstanding commitment to community service.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The program prepares psychologists to support the mental health and welfare of individuals, families, groups, and communities. Structured for five years of full-time study, students complete an empirical dissertation, 1,500 hours of clinical practicum, and 1,500 hours of clinical internship to meet California pre-doctoral licensure requirements.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
La Verne, CA | Program website
The Wright Institute
The Wright Institute is a graduate school of psychology in Berkeley, founded in 1968 by psychologist Nevitt Sanford. It offers only two degree programs: the PsyD in Clinical Psychology and an MA in Counseling Psychology. That focus means all institutional resources and faculty attention are directed at psychology training.
PsyD in Clinical Psychology
The practitioner-scholar program immerses students in clinical placements from the first year, through an extensive network that includes the Wright Institute’s own community clinics (including a CBT clinic, recovery clinic, and integrated health psychology program) and external Bay Area placements in hospitals, VA sites, community mental health centers, and neuropsychological testing programs. Academic residency runs three years on a trimester schedule; a fourth year is devoted to the pre-doctoral internship. Students can pursue optional focus areas in Psychodynamic Therapy, CBT, Neuropsychological Assessment, or Community and Multicultural Psychology.
Accreditation: APA Commission on Accreditation
Berkeley, CA | Program website
California’s concentration of APA-accredited PsyD programs gives applicants real choices across geography, training emphasis, institutional culture, and cost. Whether you’re drawn to a faith-integrated environment, a social justice orientation, a consortium with Stanford, or a program at a health sciences university, programs are spread across the state from the Bay Area to San Diego. If cost is a factor in your decision, our guide to the most affordable clinical psychology doctoral programs is a useful companion. The FAQ below covers the questions most applicants have before they start comparing programs in earnest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many APA-accredited PsyD programs are there in California?
California currently has 20 APA-accredited PsyD programs in clinical psychology, more than any other state. Two programs (California Baptist University and Mount Saint Mary’s University) hold APA accreditation on contingency, which is widely accepted for California licensure purposes. You can confirm the current accreditation status of any program at accreditation.apa.org.
How long does a PsyD program in California take to complete?
Most PsyD programs in California run four to five years for full-time students, though some run as long as six or seven years depending on the program’s structure and whether students enter from a bachelor’s or a master’s degree. A full-time pre-doctoral internship (typically one year) is built into that timeline for every APA-accredited program. The National University JFK School of Psychology, which operates on a quarter system with year-round enrollment, notes a typical range of five to seven years.
Is an internship required for a PsyD in California?
Yes. Every APA-accredited PsyD program requires a supervised internship as a graduation requirement. The internship is typically completed in the final year and runs full-time for one year. Hour requirements vary by program but commonly fall between 1,500 and 2,080 hours. Most students apply for internship placements through APPIC, the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, which coordinates a national matching process.
What are the licensure requirements for psychologists in California after completing a PsyD?
Completing an APA-accredited PsyD is one part of the path to licensure, but not the only requirement. The California Board of Psychology requires 3,000 total hours of supervised professional experience. At least 1,500 of those hours must be completed postdoctorally, though up to 1,500 predoctoral hours can count toward the total. Applicants must pass two exams in sequence: first, the EPPP, then the California Psychology Laws and Ethics Examination (CPLEE), a California-specific exam covering state statutes and APA ethics. Pre-licensure coursework in six areas (including human sexuality, child abuse assessment, and suicide risk intervention) is also required before the license is issued. Our state licensing requirements guide covers the full process, and applicants should confirm current standards directly with the California Board of Psychology.
Is a PsyD or PhD better for clinical practice in California?
Both lead to the same California psychologist license and the same EPPP. If full-time clinical practice is the goal, the PsyD is the more direct route, designed for practitioners rather than researchers, and it typically takes less time than a PhD. A PhD is a stronger fit for those aiming at research careers, university faculty positions, or primarily academic work. California has strong programs in both tracks.
Use the tool below to find accredited PsyD and PhD programs in California and compare application requirements, tuition, and program focus.