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 very large public school located in the city of Sacramento.
Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.
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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 medium-sized suburb of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
CSUCI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,817 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in California. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - San Marcos. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in California list. CSUSM is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUSM are $7,727 a year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Fresno is a great value for general education students. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year.
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California State University - Fullerton came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school 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.
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California State University - San Bernardino landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. CSUSB is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUSB are $7,213 a year.
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With a ranking of #9, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college 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.
San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best General Education Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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California State University - Bakersfield came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUB are $7,579 a year.
Read full report on General Education at California State University - Bakersfield
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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