11 Best Masters in Social Psychology California Programs for 2026
Your search for a masters in social psychology California program just got easier. California has 66 schools that provide 130 higher education degree programs in psychology and related fields. A social psychology degree in California opens doors to world-class education and career opportunities, whether you’re interested in research, clinical practice or organizational consulting. This guide explores 11 top-tier masters in social psychology programs throughout the state. We cover curriculum details, admission requirements, tuition costs, faculty expertise and career outcomes to help you make an informed decision.
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) – Masters in Social Psychology
Program Overview
UCLA’s Psychology Department delivers a research-intensive PhD program with Social Psychology as one of eight area emphases. The department does not offer a separate masters in social psychology program, but students earn a Master of Arts degree while progressing through the doctoral track. This structure positions UCLA as a training ground for researchers dedicated to expanding scientific knowledge in psychology.
The Social Psychology area stands out for its focus on basic research in close relationships and intergroup relations. Faculty expertise extends to political psychology, evolutionary psychology, family psychology, stress and coping, and issues related to culture, ethnicity, and gender. A distinctive feature involves the program’s tradition of applying rigorous, theory-driven research to real-life social problems.
Curriculum and Specializations
Doctoral students complete a two-quarter course sequence during their first year of graduate work. You take three additional seminars on topics of your choosing in subsequent years. The MA degree requires nine graduate courses totaling 36 units.
Students concentrate on a single research project during the first and second years, and this work culminates with the Master’s degree receipt. Methodological training covers experimental design, survey and field research methods, and statistical techniques including structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear modeling. You can optionally minor in quantitative methods, health psychology, or diversity science.
The program encourages interdisciplinary connections with faculty from the Anderson School of Management, Communications, Political Science, the Geffen School of Medicine, and the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.
Admission Requirements
The application deadline for Social Psychology falls on December 1, 2025. The admissions committee reviewed 1,413 applications and enrolled 28 incoming students for Fall 2025. Interviews are required for Social Psychology area finalists.
You need three letters of recommendation submitted electronically through the application. The GRE is not required, though you may voluntarily submit scores for consideration. Applications with GRE scores receive no greater weight than those without. International applicants whose first language is not English must submit TOEFL scores of at least 87 on the internet-based test or IELTS overall band scores of 7.0.
Tuition and Financial Aid
California residents pay $14,889 in university fees, with total estimated costs of $57,780 including housing, books, and health insurance. Non-residents pay an additional $15,102 in supplemental tuition, bringing total costs to $72,882. Resident university fees increase to $15,538 for 2026-27, with total costs of $60,229 for residents and $75,331 for non-residents.
The department provides funding for every admitted student through fellowships, training grants, or program-related employment such as teaching or research assistantships.
Faculty Expertise
Benjamin Karney serves as the Social Psychology area chair. Main area faculty include Yuen J. Huo, whose research spans group processes, organizational behavior, and intergroup conflict resolution, among other scholars like Jaimie Arona Krems and Efrén Pérez. Secondary area faculty include Naomi Eisenberger, Matthew Lieberman, and Carolyn Parkinson.
Career Outcomes
Graduates prepare for careers in academic and applied settings, qualifying for positions at universities, research organizations, government agencies, and business sectors.
Stanford University – Social Psychology Graduate Program
Program Overview
Stanford’s Department of Psychology operates a PhD-centered training model where social psychology represents one of five core departmental areas. The department does not offer terminal masters degrees to external applicants. The Master of Arts in Psychology becomes available only to students already enrolled in Stanford doctoral programs, whether in Psychology or other departments such as JD or MD tracks.
Social psychology at Stanford examines the interplay between individual minds and the social world through experimental methods. Topics include prejudice, stereotyping, person perception, social norms, conflict resolution, judgment biases, cultural diversity in thinking, morality, and attitudes. The training program emphasizes research competence from the first quarter. You spend half your time conducting investigations and take no more than 10 units of coursework per quarter.
Curriculum and Specializations
The MA requires completion of 45 units of graduate-level Psychology courses. You must complete four core courses from different departmental areas: Affective Science, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Neuroscience, and Social Psychology. Two quantitative methods courses are mandatory, with at least one completed during the first year. Labs, practica, research units, and independent study can contribute a maximum of 18 units.
You submit a First Year Project at the end of your first year that resembles a journal article in your area. The curriculum balances theoretical, empirical, computational, and methods training with hands-on research experience. Students work with advisors to construct programs tailored to individual learning needs while maintaining rigorous standards.
Admission Requirements
Applications open for the autumn term only. No rolling admissions. You need a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent from a recognized institution. The department does not require GRE scores to gain admission. Three letters of recommendation must be submitted, with a maximum of six accepted. Non-native English speakers submit TOEFL or IELTS scores. The application fee stands at $125.
Admission is highly selective. The all-encompassing review thinks about courses taken, grade point average, recommendation letters, and statement of purpose. The department places considerable emphasis on research training, with admitted students often involved in independent research as undergraduates or in post-baccalaureate settings.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Annual graduate tuition approximates $38,160. The department provides financial support through living stipend, tuition, and health insurance through summer quarter of the fifth year. Funding sources include research and teaching assistantships that cover salary, tuition, and health insurance. Students receive bimonthly paychecks with usual paydays on the 7th and 22nd of each month.
Faculty Expertise
Jamil Zaki directs the Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory and focuses on empathic accuracy, social influence, and altruism. Alia J. Crum leads the Mind & Body Lab and examines how subjective mindsets alter reality through behavioral and physiological mechanisms. Steven O. Roberts directs the Social Concepts Lab and studies how adults and children envision groups. James Gross runs the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory and concentrates on emotion and emotion regulation.
Career Outcomes
Social Sciences PhD graduates from 2023-24 reported median salaries of $82,000, with a range from $66,300 to $94,000. Positions include assistant professorships, postdoctoral fellowships, and research roles at universities such as McMaster University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Memphis, and University of Pennsylvania.
University of California, Berkeley – Social Psychology Masters Degree
Program Overview
UC Berkeley’s Psychology Department operates a five-year doctoral program where Social-Personality Psychology represents one of six training units. The department does not offer terminal masters degrees but provides an optional MA while you work toward your PhD. This STEM-designated program guarantees funding for five years. Most students complete their doctorate in five or six years.
The Social-Personality program trains graduate students for research and teaching careers through intensive specialization across six distinct areas. Faculty conduct research in cognitive development, language development, statistical learning, conceptual development and social cognition in infants and children. The department’s goal centers on producing scholar-researchers with breadth to maintain their point of view in psychology and depth for independent, most important research.
Curriculum and Specializations
Your first year has Psych 260A and 260B proseminars, taken in Fall and Spring. You complete three topical seminars throughout the program and Psych 250D (Methods of Personality Measurement) during your first or second year. The curriculum requires annual 15-20 minute Brown Bag talks for oral presentation requirements.
You’re encouraged to take classes from other departments in addition to psychology courses. This lets you leverage unique faculty strengths on Berkeley’s campus to enrich your graduate training. The program combines courses, seminars and supervised independent research with varying requirements by training unit.
Admission Requirements
Applications open September 10 and close November 17 at 8:59 PM PST. The GRE is not required for Fall 2026, and omitting scores carries no penalty. You need three letters of recommendation, with a fourth acceptable. At least two must come from professors or research supervisors.
Competitive candidates hold bachelor’s degrees in psychology or related fields from accredited four-year institutions. The admission rate stands at approximately 2.4%, with 820 applicants and 20 admission offers for the 2025 entering class. International students must demonstrate language proficiency through TOEFL or IELTS scores.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Graduate tuition reaches $15,866 for in-state students and $30,968 for out-of-state students. Personal expenses top $28,000 each year, reflecting the Bay Area’s high cost of living. Financial aid, fellowships and academic appointments reduce these costs for many Berkeley graduate students.
Faculty Expertise
Faculty expertise spans behavioral and systems neuroscience, clinical science, cognition, cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology and social-personality areas.
Career Outcomes
Graduates pursue various paths that range from faculty positions and academic scholars to practicing clinicians, science writers and editors, public service roles and industry positions at companies like Meta and Oura.
University of Southern California (USC) – Social Psychology Program
Program Overview
USC’s Psychology Department structures its graduate training around five specialty areas, with Social Psychology serving as a distinct research concentration. The program trains students to break down how individuals’ thoughts, feelings and actions respond to social influences and group dynamics. Research topics span attitude change, aggression, intergroup relations, judgment and decision-making, safe sex behaviors, gender differences and self-regulation.
The department emphasizes methodological and statistical tools to study human social behavior. Students develop research expertise and pursue additional lines of inquiry with other faculty members. Students gain skills in experimental methods, meta-analytic reviews, computational modeling and statistics. They apply these to real-life challenges such as sustainability, climate change, reducing intergroup conflict and promoting healthful behaviors.
USC also offers a Master of Science in Applied Psychology designed for careers where knowledge of human behavior determines job performance. This program stresses practical applications of psychological principles related to social influence, human motivation, interpersonal dynamics and decision-making.
Curriculum and Specializations
The MAP degree requires 34 units of coursework. Students complete PSYC 505, PSYC 550a, PSYC 550b, PSYC 552, PSYC 565, 4 to 8 units of PSYC 591 and 2 units of PSYC 592. You choose from PSYC 513, PSYC 517, PSYC 556 and PSYC 622 to focus on either organizational psychology or consumer psychology. Full-time students complete the program in two semesters plus summer, while part-time students must finish within five years.
The PhD program follows an apprenticeship model where you work closely with faculty in research labs throughout your training. First-year screening evaluates course performance and research progress. A second-year project resembling a master’s thesis follows.
Admission Requirements
The Fall application opens September 1, with a December 1st deadline. The application fee stands at $105.00. You must submit a personal statement covering your present interests, influential experiences, direct psychological work experience and ten-year career goals. Three letters of recommendation from professors or supervisors are required. The GRE is not required and will not be reviewed if provided.
Tuition and Financial Aid
PhD students receive a five-year support package that has an annual stipend of $41,200.00, 36 units of tuition coverage per year and year-round health and dental insurance. The package provides two years of fellowship and three years of teaching or research assistantship funding.
Faculty Expertise
The social psychology faculty roster has multiple professors specializing in areas ranging from neurobiological bases of motivation and personality to judgment and decision-making about sustainability.
Career Outcomes
Psychology graduates pursue roles as doctors, lawyers, professors, psychologists, social workers and business administrators. Market demand remains strong for master’s degree holders with specialized skills in quantitative analysis and behavior analysis.
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) – Masters in Social Psychology
Program Overview
UCSD’s Department of Psychology focuses on doctoral training through its PhD in Experimental Psychology. Social psychology represents one of four core research emphases. The department is 59 years old and first admitted graduate students in 1966. It currently enrolls 74 students in its doctoral program for 2025/2026. As of June 30, 2025, the department awarded 475 doctoral degrees. No terminal masters degree exists, but you can apply for an optional Master of Arts while progressing through the PhD program.
The program operates through an apprenticeship model. You work with faculty advisors throughout your graduate career and are treated more like colleagues than students. Social psychology research at UCSD gets into cognitive and emotional foundations of social interaction, relationships and well-being.
Curriculum and Specializations
First-year coursework has two quantitative methods courses (PSYC 201A-B) and department proseminars. You complete three area proseminar courses by the end of year two and three additional approved seminars by year three. Your first year concludes with an independent research project presented orally to faculty and graduate students. Teaching participation spans at least four quarters. You teach one quarter in year one and two quarters each year in years two through four.
Admission Requirements
Application fees stand at $135 for domestic applicants and $155 for international applicants. You need a cumulative GPA over 3.0 from your most recent degree. The GRE remains optional for Fall 2026 admissions. International students must achieve TOEFL scores of 85 on the internet-based test or IELTS minimum band scores of 7. Three recommendation letters are required, and a statement of purpose limited to 1000 words.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Students receive full funding for years 1-5. This covers all tuition, fees and health insurance plus stipend support. Year 1 provides $38,485 in base support, and years 2-5 offer $38,276 each year. Additional funding has a $1,000 McGill research expense account and up to $2,000 toward computer purchases.
Faculty Expertise
Dr. Michael McCullough organizes biweekly social psychology area meetings.
Career Outcomes
Graduates pursue careers in academic research, clinical practice, neuroscience and medicine. Others go into law, public policy and entrepreneurship.
University of California, Davis – Social-Personality Psychology Program
Program Overview
UC Davis trains graduate students through a PhD program that represents a distinctive fusion of social and personality psychology. Strong faculty representation exists in both domains, and multiple research lines connect them. The program wants to produce researchers and teachers of the highest caliber through intensive preparation in research methods, statistical analysis, and diverse theoretical perspectives. Applications are accepted only for the PhD, though you can earn a Master’s degree along the way.
Students get into the affective, cognitive, socio-cultural, biological, and developmental underpinnings of human behavior. They use various methodological strategies. The program operates through close collaboration between faculty and doctoral students. You can individually tailor training plans based on your interests and work with multiple faculty members.
Curriculum and Specializations
Your training covers diverse methods. These range from archival and field-observational approaches to computerized reaction-time tasks and neuroscientific techniques. You complete at least six graduate courses, with three required from the Psychology Department. At least one breadth course must fall outside your specialization area.
The program mandates three statistics courses in the PSC 204-series. These cover psychometrics, experimental and correlational data analysis, variance and covariance analysis, and multivariate analysis. You design, conduct, analyze, and write a publishable research project during your first year. The program offers affiliations with internationally renowned units. These are the Center for Mind and Brain, Center for Neuroscience, California Regional Primate Center, and MIND Institute.
Admission Requirements
Faculty accepting graduate students for Fall 2026 are Eastwick, Mosley, Sherman, Todd, Wilkinson Westberg, and Yoneda. The GRE is no longer required. The program has no course prerequisites. You need a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA minimum. Three letters of recommendation are required. You can list up to six faculty as possible mentors. The Psychology admissions and fellowship deadline falls on December 1st.
Tuition and Financial Aid
All Psychology graduate students receive guaranteed full funding for five years. This comes through Teaching Assistantships, Graduate Student Researcher positions, and Fellowships. Funding has full tuition and fee remission, non-resident supplemental tuition, and student health insurance. Monthly TA salaries range from $3,928 for 0-2 quarters of experience to $4,168 for 6+ quarters for 2025-26. GSR positions pay $3,747 monthly.
Faculty Expertise
Dr. Emorie Beck is an Assistant Professor specializing in personality psychology. She focuses on personality definitions, measurements, and predictions across different aggregation levels. Richard W. Robins directs the Personality, Self, and Emotion Lab with 25 years of continuous NIH funding. He researches personality development, self-esteem, narcissism, and social emotions.
Career Outcomes
Graduates enter positions as researchers and teachers. They work in academic institutions, research organizations, and related fields.
University of California, Irvine – Social Psychology Degree Program
Program Overview
The Department of Psychological Science at UCI operates within the School of Social Ecology. It houses 25 faculty members in specialties of all types. Social/Personality Psychology trains students to get into how social environment features and individual characteristics interact to influence behavior, cognition and affect. Faculty conduct interdisciplinary research that addresses important societal problems. They share an interest in human adaptation in a variety of sociocultural and developmental contexts.
Research extends beyond laboratory settings. It reaches into schools, worksites, homes, community centers, hospitals, medical clinics and women’s shelters both domestically and internationally. The department attracts substantial extramural support and averaged around $1.50 million each year over the last five years. Current fiscal year direct costs exceed $2.10 million.
Curriculum and Specializations
The Social/Personality specialization develops strong foundations in theoretical perspectives, research methods and current controversies. Special emphases include social cognition, emotion and subjective well-being. The program also covers self and identity, personality resilience, interpersonal relations and cultural psychology. Students learn about adaptation to stress and perceived risks.
Admission Requirements
The PhD program has paused admissions for 2026-2027 due to budgetary uncertainty. The Master of Legal and Forensic Psychology accepts applications with a minimum 3.0 undergraduate GPA. You need two confidential letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose and a resume or CV. GRE scores are not required. The priority deadline is March 1, 2026. Applications submitted by this date receive review in early April 2026.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Graduate student fees total $19,214.84 for residents and $34,316.84 for non-residents.
Faculty Expertise
Several faculty members have received campus-wide awards for excellence in teaching and mentoring undergraduate researchers. They have also been recognized for training doctoral students. Multi-year awards to departmental faculty currently exceed $12.00 million.
Career Outcomes
Graduates qualify for positions at academic institutions, research organizations and government policy institutes. They also find work in health care settings and with private sector employers.
Claremont Graduate University – Social Psychology Masters
Program Overview
Claremont Graduate University delivers a terminal Master of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in Applied Social Psychology. This sets it apart from most California programs that offer doctoral training. The 48-unit MA program completes in two years full-time and has STEM designation. International F-1 visa holders can apply for 36 months of OPT work authorization. The curriculum applies social psychology theory to health behavior and societal issues. You’ll be prepared to inform policy and prosocial interventions.
CGU also offers a PhD in Applied Social Psychology requiring 72 units over 5-7 years. Research activity focuses on four faculty labs and institutes. These include the Health Psychology and Prevention Science Institute and Social Identity Lab.
Curriculum and Specializations
The MA requires 16 units in Social Psychology covering health and social issues. You’ll complete 22 units in applied research methods and evaluation and 10 units of electives. Year one covers foundations and principles of change. Year two addresses group behavior and intervention development. Core areas include attitudes and persuasion, group processes and intergroup relations, and interpersonal processes.
Admission Requirements
You need a bachelor’s degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA from a regionally accredited institution. The application fee is $80. Submit a 2-3 page statement of purpose detailing your research interests and career goals. You’ll also need two letters of recommendation. International applicants require TOEFL scores of at least 95 iBT or IELTS scores of 7.0 for direct admission. Priority deadlines are November 1 for Spring 2026 and February 1 for Fall 2026.
Tuition and Financial Aid
MA program tuition is $48,480 for the two-year program. Based on 2025-2026 rates, each unit costs $2,070. CGU awards over $16 million in fellowships each year. 87% of students receive some form of fellowship funding. Additional costs include a $245 student fee and $150 technology fee.
Faculty Expertise
William Crano holds the Stuart Oskamp Chair of Psychology. His research examines social influence and health information effects on drug addiction and HIV/AIDS. Michael Hogg, Professor of Social Psychology, has expertise in self and social identity, intergroup relations, and influence and leadership. Jason T. Siegel’s work centers on social psychology, health psychology, and persuasion. Saida Heshmati researches human flourishing across the lifespan and positive relationships.
Career Outcomes
Graduates hold leadership, research, and consulting positions in private corporations, non-profit organizations, and government. They also work in health care, public health, and community organizations. Employment in social psychology-related fields shows 8% growth through 2032. Median salaries range from $55,000 to $75,000 depending on industry and location.
Pepperdine University – Social Psychology Graduate Program
Program Overview
Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology offers a Master of Arts in Psychology spanning 36-48 units over 1.5-2 years. The program is available both in-person at West Los Angeles, Irvine, and Calabasas campuses, and online. The program has a strong clinical emphasis and prepares you for doctoral applications, psychology professions, or leadership roles, though it does not lead to licensure. Small classes create a supportive learning environment. Student-faculty interactions are meaningful.
Curriculum and Specializations
The curriculum has five foundation courses. These cover research methods, physiological psychology, psychopathology, life cycle development, and behavioral principles. Core courses feature PSY 607 Social Psychology, among diagnosis and treatment, assessment, group therapy, multicultural counseling, and industrial/organizational psychology. You complete 10 core courses plus electives in positive psychology or career development.
Admission Requirements
You need a bachelor’s degree from any field. Foundational psychology courses are required if your last coursework was over seven years ago. You must submit transcripts, two letters of recommendation, and a two-to-five-page statement of purpose. TOEFL scores of 85 iBT or IELTS scores of 7 are required for international applicants.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition costs $1,630 per unit. GSEP awards over $6 million in scholarships each year, and most students receive financial assistance. More than 75 percent of students benefit from financial aid programs.
Faculty Expertise
Faculty are scholar-practitioners with strong academic achievements and professional expertise. Dr. Ralph Ogburn holds a PhD in social psychology from Walden University. He teaches graduate and PhD levels while serving as dissertation chair and mentor.
Career Outcomes
Graduates pursue positions as developmental specialists, employment counselors, behavioral counselors, community outreach specialists, program managers, and case managers. The program provides a solid foundation for doctoral studies in psychology.
University of California, Santa Barbara – Social Psychology Program
Program Overview
UCSB’s Social Psychology Program ranks among top programs nationally and trains experimental researchers for academic and private sector careers through a balance of theory-oriented simple research and problem-oriented applied work. Faculty break down cognitive, affective, and motivational processes that underlie intraindividual, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup behaviors. Research topics span attitude change, social influence, stereotyping, self-knowledge, stigma, coping with stressful life events, decision making, interpersonal perception, close relationships, and social influences within virtual environments. The program limits admissions intentionally to enable close faculty-student collaboration.
Curriculum and Specializations
You get broad background through graduate seminars, weekly area meetings, and speaker series that attract prominent social and personality psychologists. Research training emphasizes mainstream experimental methodology. Specialization opportunities exist in social cognition, social psychophysiological techniques, and immersive virtual environment methods. Interdisciplinary training connects with communication and human development.
Admission Requirements
Graduate admissions had 235 students apply and resulted in 26 acceptances and 13 enrolled students. Application fees stand at $90 for domestic and $110 for international applicants. The GRE General Test is required. The application deadline falls on December 1st.
Tuition and Financial Aid
In-state tuition reaches $16,035, while out-of-state students pay $49,885. Financial support has fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships.
Faculty Expertise
The program employs 27 faculty members who conduct externally sponsored research that totals $4,776,541. Faculty include Nancy Collins, Daniel Conroy-Beam who specializes in evolutionary mating psychology, Heejung Kim who breaks down cultural influences, Kyle Ratner who examines face processing and intergroup contexts, and Rene Weber who studies media psychology. David Sherman researches self-defense psychology and environmental sustainability barriers.
Career Outcomes
The program’s research facilities feature state-of-the-art video, audio, computer, and psychophysiological data collection capabilities that prepare graduates for high-quality research positions.
San Diego State University – Masters in Social Psychology California
Program Overview
San Diego State University’s Psychology Department delivers a Master of Arts designed to strengthen your profile for doctoral program applications. The research-oriented MA focuses on experimental studies with human participants and does not provide clinical training in assessment or diagnosis. Social/Personality psychology represents one of five laboratory areas where you can conduct research. This area explores how social and cognitive factors affect individual and group perceptions, influences, and relationships.
Curriculum and Specializations
You complete a minimum of 30 units that include core courses in major psychology areas. The program assigns you a faculty research mentor upon admission. You work in their laboratory for the first two semesters. All students design, execute, and present an original empirical thesis project that meets Graduate and Research Affairs requirements.
Admission Requirements
You need an undergraduate psychology major with at least 24 upper division units and a 3.0 GPA minimum in those courses. Your major should include general psychology and statistical methods. A 3.0 overall undergraduate GPA is required.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition for 2026-27 stands at $8,548 with campus fees of $2,942. Non-resident students add $471 per unit.
Faculty Expertise
Faculty conduct research in behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, learning and cognition, social/personality, developmental psychology, and physical/mental health research.
Career Outcomes
Alumni have entered doctoral programs at Purdue University and University of Houston.
Begin Now
California’s social psychology programs offer diverse pathways depending on your academic goals and career aspirations. Most universities require doctoral enrollment to earn a master’s degree, but programs like Claremont Graduate University and Pepperdine provide terminal MA options for those seeking direct entry into the field.
You should identify whether research-intensive PhD training or applied master’s coursework lines up better with your ten-year career plan. Then assess funding packages, faculty expertise matching your research interests, and admission requirements across these eleven programs. The application process needs most important preparation, especially when you have selective institutions to consider. Finding the right fit pays off in the long run though.
Your trip toward advancing social psychology research begins with selecting the program that matches your goals.