2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, liberal arts / sciences and humanities students earned 52,773 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 3rd in the state.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 47 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Sonoma State University the best value school in California for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park, SSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SSU are $7,988 a year.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State University - East Bay helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in California. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree 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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Out of the 47 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also is in the top 10% of our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.
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Out of the 47 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Channel Islands landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUCI are $6,817 per year.
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Brandman University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Irvine, Brandman is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Brandman are $12,480 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Brandman is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.
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National University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Jolla.
National University undergraduate students pay an average of $13,320 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, National University also did well on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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California State University - Monterey Bay ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUMB is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Seaside.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUMB are $7,218 per year.
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With a ranking of #9, San Francisco State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year.
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With a ranking of #10, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.
San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Request InformationBest Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 17,408 |
| Oregon | 8,599 |
| Hawaii | 2,024 |
| Nevada | 1,679 |
| Alaska | 417 |
More Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Rankings in California
Majors Related to Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 556,813 |
Majors Similar to Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Visual & Performing Arts | 149,215 |
| English Language & Literature | 54,635 |
| Foreign Languages & Linguistics | 33,333 |
| Theology & Religious Vocations | 27,459 |
| Philosophy & Religious Studies | 19,993 |
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 Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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