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Best Value History Schools in California

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2023 Best Value History Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

30 Colleges
$9,186 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$27,322 Avg Salary

Finding the Best History School for You

With 5,392 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, history is the #21 most popular major in California.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Value History Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 30 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for history students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value History Schools in California

Check out the history programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best History Schools

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found California State University - Long Beach to be the best value school for history students who want to pursue a degree in California. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

CSULB undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each year. History majors at CSULB take out an average of $15,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

#2

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$7,304 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means San Francisco State University is a great value for history students. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year. History majors at SFSU take out an average of $15,000 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $203.

Full History at San Francisco State University Report

#3

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA
$7,988 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Sonoma State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best history schools in California. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park.

SSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,988 in in-state tuition and fees each year. History majors at SSU take out an average of $15,742 in student loans while working on their egree.

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$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year. While working on their degree, history majors at Fresno State accumulate an average of around $18,245 in student debt.

Full History at California State University - Fresno Report

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Northridge is a great value for history students. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year. After completing their degree, history graduates from CSUN carry an average student debtload of $12,921.

Full History at California State University - Northridge Report

$6,817 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Channel Islands did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for history students. It came in at #6 on the list. CSUCI is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Camarillo.

CSUCI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,817 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, history graduates from CSUCI take out $16,206 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on History at California State University - Channel Islands

#7

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value history programs. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at National University are $13,320 a year. After completing their degree, history graduates from National University carry an average student debtload of $31,000.

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$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Fullerton came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value History Schools in California ranking. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

Cal State Fullerton undergraduate students pay an average of $6,976 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, history graduates from Cal State Fullerton carry an average student debtload of $15,401.

Read full report on History at California State University - Fullerton

$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value History Schools in California ranking. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a very large student population.

Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, history graduates from Cal Poly Pomona carry an average student debtload of $17,000.

Read full report on History at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value history programs. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a year. While working on their degree, history majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo accumulate an average of around $17,003 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $281, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also did well on our Best History Schools in California list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on History at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Best Value History Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value History Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 475
Oregon 342
Hawaii 68
Nevada 109
Alaska 41

History Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
History 32,731

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 327,871
Social Sciences 205,984
Psychology 195,678
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820

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 Abraham Ortelius.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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