2023 Best Value General Education Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best General Education 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.
The Best Value General Education Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 50 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value 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 Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Sacramento the best value school in California for general education students. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year.
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Out of the 50 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.
Full General Education at California State University - Long Beach Report
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The excellent programs at California State University - Channel Islands helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in California. Located in the suburb of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUCI are $6,817 per year.
Read full report on General Education at California State University - Channel Islands
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a great value for general education students. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.
Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - San Marcos is a great value for general education students. CSUSM is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of San Marcos.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUSM are $7,727 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in California list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year.
Full General Education at California State University - Fresno Report
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California State University - Fullerton landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year.
Read full report on General Education at California State University - Fullerton
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California State University - San Bernardino ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in California list. CSUSB is a large public school located in the city of San Bernardino.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUSB are $7,213 per year.
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San Jose State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Education Schools in California list.
Full General Education at San Jose State University Report
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California State University - Bakersfield ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public college with a large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUB are $7,579 per year.
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 25 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.
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