2023 Best Value General Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best General Education Bachelor's Degree School for You
General Education is the #17 most popular major in California with 7,063 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value General Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 10 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best General Education Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found University of California - San Diego to be the best value school for general education students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.
UCSD undergraduate students pay an average of $14,700 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Irvine is a great value for general education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Irvine are $13,775 per year. Education majors at UC Irvine take out an average of $15,329 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $230, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northcentral University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Diego, Northcentral University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Northcentral University undergraduate students pay an average of $12,594 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Education majors at Northcentral University take out an average of $29,085 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Mills College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value general education schools in California. Located in the large city of Oakland, Mills is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Mills undergraduate students pay an average of $30,950 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Dominican University of California came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. DUofC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Rafael.
DUofC undergraduate students pay an average of $47,910 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Biola University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree general education programs. Biola is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of La Mirada.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Biola are $44,382 a year.
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Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree general education programs. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
MSMU undergraduate students pay an average of $45,388 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Hope International University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree general education programs. Hope is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Hope are $35,450 per year.
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Chapman University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Orange.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Chapman are $58,634 per year. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $297.
Read full report on General Education at Chapman University
Request InformationBest Value General Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value General Education Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 728 |
| Oregon | 767 |
| Nevada | 36 |
| Hawaii | 64 |
| Alaska | 26 |
More General Education Rankings in California
General Education Related Majors for Education
General Education is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 110,226 |
| Educational Administration | 46,469 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 43,297 |
| Special Education | 36,792 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 19,832 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.
More about our data sources and methodologies.