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Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

31 Colleges
$1,251 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$23,818 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 31 schools in California to see which undergraduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools

#1

Los Angeles Valley College

Valley Glen, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Los Angeles Valley College the best value school in California for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their undergraduate certificate. LAVC is a large public school located in the city of Valley Glen.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at LAVC are $1,238 a year.

LAVC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list.

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#2

Cuesta College

San Luis Obispo, CA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Cuesta College is a great value for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their undergraduate certificate. Cuesta College is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cuesta College are $1,338 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Cuesta College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list.

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#3

East Los Angeles College

Monterey Park, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Los Angeles College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. East Los Angeles College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Monterey Park.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at East Los Angeles College are $1,238 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, East Los Angeles College is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at East Los Angeles College

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#4

Los Angeles Harbor College

Wilmington, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Los Angeles Harbor College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. LAHC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Wilmington.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at LAHC are $1,238 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Los Angeles Harbor College Report

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#5

Los Angeles City College

Los Angeles, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Los Angeles City College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles City College is a public college with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Los Angeles City College are $1,238 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Los Angeles City College is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list.

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#6

Merced College

Merced, CA

Merced College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. Merced Community College District is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Merced.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Merced Community College District are $1,180 a year.

Merced Community College District also claimed a spot on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Merced College Report

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#7

Chaffey College

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Chaffey College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Chaffey College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Rancho Cucamonga.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Chaffey College are $1,184 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Chaffey College Report

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#8

Santa Ana College

Santa Ana, CA

Santa Ana College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Santa Ana, SAC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

SAC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,180 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Los Angeles Mission College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Los Angeles Mission College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Sylmar.

Los Angeles Mission College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,238 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Los Angeles Mission College Report

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#10

San Jose City College

San Jose, CA

San Jose City College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a undergraduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose City College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose City College are $1,366 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at San Jose City College Report

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Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges 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

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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