2023 Best Value General Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best General Education Graduate Certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in California to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for education students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
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.
Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in General Education
Our analysis found California State University - Sacramento to be the best value school for general education students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in California. Sac State is a very large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Sac State are $8,826 per year.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Fresno is a great value for general education students working on their graduate certificate. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Fresno State are $8,087 a year.
Read full report on General Education at California State University - Fresno
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at California State University - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value general education schools in California. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Cal State LA graduate students pay an average of $8,219 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Out of the 7 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Berkeley are $14,160 a year. While working on their Graduate Certificate, education majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $18,850 in student debt.
UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our Best General Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on General Education at University of California - Berkeley
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Out of the 7 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Azusa Pacific University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Azusa Pacific are $16,696 a year.
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With a ranking of #6, Claremont Graduate University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students working on their graduate certificate. Claremont Graduate University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Claremont Graduate University are $36,380 per year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Claremont Graduate University is ranked #5 for overall quality for education in California.
Read full report on General Education at Claremont Graduate University
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Northcentral University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Education Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Diego, Northcentral University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Northcentral University graduate students pay an average of $18,207 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, education graduates from Northcentral University take out $17,571 in student loans while working on their Graduate Certificate.
Read full report on General Education at Northcentral 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 7 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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