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Best Value History Schools in California

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.

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.

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#2

San Francisco State University

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

Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly 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.

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#3

Sonoma State University

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Sonoma State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in California list. SSU is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Rohnert Park.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SSU are $7,988 a 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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in California list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a very large student population.

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

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$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a very large student population.

CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, history graduates from CSUN carry an average student debtload of $12,921.

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$6,817 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Channel Islands ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in California list. CSUCI is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Camarillo.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUCI are $6,817 a year. On average, history graduates from CSUCI take out $16,206 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#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 large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at National University are $13,320 per 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 did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for history students. It came in at #8 on the list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large 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.

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$7,439 Average Tuition & Fees

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value history programs. Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 per year. After completing their degree, history graduates from Cal Poly Pomona carry an average student debtload of $17,000.

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$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 small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $10,195 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best History Schools in California list.

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Best Value History Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value History Schools 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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