Transforming Experience into Expertise, and Expertise into Leadership
As the demand for psychology professionals remains steady, so too does the demand for qualified, accredited, hands-on, and multicultural-focused psychology education. At the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant University, our school of psychology is awarded with top accreditation and elite faculty members, helping to give our graduate students the best education possible.
For more than 50 years, CSPP has responded to this demand by transforming students into working professionals in areas such as general psychology, cognitive psychology, organizational psychology, educational psychology, counseling psychology, applied psychology, and more. Graduates from our psychology school are now making a difference in people’s lives through their professions as:
Clinical psychologists
Marriage and family therapists
Clinical counselors
Organizational psychologists
Organizational behavior psychologists
Organizational development psychologists
Social Work
Psychopharmacologists
Whether you’re looking for on-campus or online school psychology programs, our undergraduate and graduate degree programs are the perfect place to start. As one of the leading California colleges in psychology, our experienced faculty members help each of our students gain valuable problem-solving skills and hands-on experience that can set them up for success in a career in the field of professional psychology.
Psychology Degree Programs Offered at CSPP
A psychology school is only as good as the student it trains. Founded in 1969, the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant has educated over 16,000 psychology students as one of the nation’s first free-standing schools of professional psychology.
Today, our in-person and online psychology school in California continues its commitment to preparing the next generation of mental health professionals and advocates. Our dedication to ensuring every community’s access to quality mental health care extends from integrated care to inclusive family therapy, and our psychology students and alumni begin making an impact in the communities they serve from the moment they set foot in our classrooms.
CSPP is one of the top psychology schools in California and understands the need for flexibility with today’s student needs. This is why we offer online programs, as well as hybrid programs that blend online and campus-based learning.
Why Study Psychology in California?
If you want to be a clinical psychologist, a school psychologist, a family therapist, or a licensed professional clinical counselor in a promising job market, California should definitely be on your radar. Not only does the Golden State have a strong job market for psychologists, additionally, according to Projections Central, employment opportunities for clinical, counseling, and school psychologists in California are expected to increase by 8.6% from 2020-2030.
To have access to the California job market and practice as a psychologist in California, you must be licensed by the California Board of Psychology. With license and extensive knowledge in social psychology, developmental psychology and more, you’ll improve your employment prospects. California’s job market makes it a great place to launch your psychology career. Consider attending one of the best psychology schools and top institutions among psychology colleges in California. Rooted in psychological science, Alliant emphasizes both theory and practice to help prepare graduates for impactful roles and valuable skills across the field.
Welcome from the Dean
Welcome to the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant University!
I was drawn to psychology because of my interest in adolescent mental health and substance use disorder, and I wanted to find a way to help. As well as being dean, I’m a professor and a clinical researcher, working towards a goal of improving community mental health and eliminating racial disparity and inequity.
When you join us at CSPP, you join the ranks of the many California mental health professionals who have graduated from Alliant. Our training is grounded in academic rigor with a focus on serving marginalized and underserved communities.
At CSPP you’ll dig deep into the specialty of your choice, with faculty who share your interests and the mission to prepare you to work in the field. Our campuses can be found across the state, each with its own focus, but all interconnected. We have a broad network of partners and associates, and each campus has a professional training office ready to tap into that network to assist in your internship placement.
Our faculty is varied and diverse in both culture and experience, and eager to guide you through the program, sharing their clinical and research expertise with you.
If you have a heart of service and a genuine desire to help others, you will find a home here at CSPP.
Sincerely,
David Stewart, PhD
Dean, California School of Professional Psychology
Each year, hundreds of students graduate from CSPP at Alliant, prepared, confident, and excited about their future in professional psychology. Here are ten reasons why:
Longstanding APA (American Psychological Association) and COAMFTE accreditation requirements of clinical psychology and marriage and family therapy programs, ensures your education is among the highest of California’s standards.
The online master’s degree program in marriage and family therapy is designed to follow the COAMFTE-accredited curriculum of the on-ground program and is accredited by COAMFTE.
The master’s degree psychology program in clinical counseling is CACREP-accredited, which is the recognized training standard for counselors by the Institute of Medicine and the Veteran’s Administration, and its curricula content areas include the required educational training for counseling licensure in most states, making CACREP-accreditation a pathway to portability.
Our online, CSWE-accredited MSW program is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to make meaningful contributions in clinical, policy, and advocacy settings. We are proud to provide a high-quality, CSWE-accredited education that will empower future social workers to meet the evolving needs of individuals, families, and communities.
CSPP graduate school offers many combinations of degrees and emphasis areas, so every student has the ability to graduate with a specialized skill set after completing a psychology degree program. CSPP areas of emphasis include:
Many of CSPP master’s programs at Alliant are offered online, allowing for flexible, convenient schedules while maintaining the necessary on-ground practicum our graduate program CSPP is known for.
Multiculturalism is a foundational feature and core commitment at CSPP. Whether it’s our marital and family therapy, counseling psychology, and clinical psychology programs, multicultural competencies are woven through the curriculum. Throughout our multicultural specialization and our certificate in LGBT human services and mental health program, CSPP is committed to promoting inclusion within our campuses and celebrating diversity throughout our programs.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging The Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging provides leadership and expertise to the Alliant Community to advance its commitment to inclusive excellence, community service, and academic excellence.
Through programmatic and educational initiatives, we enable our faculty, staff, and students to reach their potential while promoting the appreciation of cultural diversity and foster intercultural and cross-cultural understanding.
For more than 50 years, CSPP at Alliant has established practicum opportunities with organizations across California. These relationships provide students the opportunity to receive real-world experience in an environment relevant to their studies and future employment goals. We’ve partnered with organizations like:
CSPP offers students the opportunity to provide consulting services to respected organizations that in the past included Goodwill, Disney, City of Hope National Medical Center, Ingenium Schools, and the City of Pasadena. These consulting opportunities may provide CSPP students with an advantage when entering the workforce.
Our small class sizes will allow you to get to know your psychology department’s professors as individuals. Under their mentorship, you will receive the support and personal attention needed to excel and become a professional even before graduation.
We encourage our students to support their local communities. We are proud to announce that our students provide many hours of service annually to their local communities, while our postdoctoral CSPP graduates provide an additional 450,000 hours of professional service in the US in preparation for licensure.
The reason CSPP remains one of the top psychology colleges in California begins and ends with our amazing students. We are proud to be represented by a talented and passionate community of diverse individuals who use their education and skills to better lives not only in California but throughout the world.
The Alliant Choice
For a psychology university to thrive for more than 50 years, it requires an undeniable commitment from our administrators, professors, and especially from our graduate students. Choosing our psychology school for your higher education degree means choosing quality from start to finish. We are proud of the CSPP tradition, but we are even more proud of our students’ success and the work they are doing across our country for people.
Alliant invites you to continue this legacy of impactful, professional practice, leadership, and service.
If you’d like to learn more, contact an Alliant admissions counselor today to ask a question, discuss your goals, learn more about the coursework, and take the next step to begin your education at our psychology university in California.
More About Alliant and CSPP
CSPP is the home of several interdisciplinary research institutes, each of which is focused on an area of urgent importance within the field of professional psychology. Students have the opportunity to participate in the activities of these institutes and, through them, to work with faculty from across the Alliant community. Whether pursuing a master’s, or a doctorate degree students can dive into various disciplines including, social, cognitive, and organizational psychology within our faculty-led institutes. Psychology provides opportunities for research methods training, practicum and real-world field experience that prepare students for a variety of careers.
You can search the topics of CSPP graduate research from the Alliant library page. Some students work on their doctoral research in research clusters with faculty when getting their degree; others choose to explore an area of their own interest, often related to an academic emphasis.
Alliant faculty members are also actively involved in research in their fields; we encourage you to explore CSPP faculty backgrounds to learn more about their research interests and publications. The department supports both online and in-person learning, allowing students to choose between virtual programs or traditional on-campus training. Our curriculum ranges from foundational courses to specialized graduate studies in forensic, developmental, and organizational psychology. This design fosters both academic and personal growth, preparing alumni to lead professional practices, pursue licensure, or continue toward advanced doctorate degrees.
