2023 Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best General Education Master'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 Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 48 schools in California to see which master's degree 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.
Top 10 Best General Education Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Sacramento the best value school in California for general education students working on their master’s degree. 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.
Read full report on General Education at California State University - Sacramento
Request Information
The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value general education schools in California. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSULB are $8,280 a year.
Read full report on General Education at California State University - Long Beach
Request Information
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Channel Islands is a great value for general education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
CSUCI graduate students pay an average of $8,251 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full General Education at California State University - Channel Islands Report
Request Information
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.
Cal Poly Pomona graduate students pay an average of $8,873 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full General Education at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report
Request Information
The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Fresno helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value general education schools in California. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fresno State are $8,087 per year.
Request Information
California State University - San Marcos did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the 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 graduate student at CSUSM are $9,161 a year.
Request Information
California State University - Fullerton came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 a year.
Read full report on General Education at California State University - Fullerton
Request Information
California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. CSUSB is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Bernardino.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUSB are $8,647 per year.
Request Information
With a ranking of #9, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. 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 graduate student at San Jose State are $9,286 a year.
Read full report on General Education at San Jose State University
Request Information
With a ranking of #10, California State University - Bakersfield did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUB are $9,013 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 Colleges 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.