2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master'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.
The Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 8 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master'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.
Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Liberal Arts & Humanities
Our analysis found San Francisco State University to be the best value school for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SFSU are $8,738 per year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Northridge helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in California. CSUN is a very large public school located in the city of Northridge.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUN are $8,477 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Diego.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SDSU are $9,570 per year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Dominguez Hills helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in California. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a large student population.
CSUDH graduate students pay an average of $8,494 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Sacramento. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Sac State is a fairly 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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Mount Saint Mary’s University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at MSMU are $13,099 a year.
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Dominican University of California ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California list. DUofC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Rafael.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at DUofC are $16,569 per year.
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With a ranking of #8, Saint Mary’s College of California did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Moraga, SMC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SMC are $33,357 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, SMC also did well on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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 8 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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