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Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California

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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.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools

#1

Los Angeles Valley College

Valley Glen, CA

Our analysis found Los Angeles Valley College to be the best value school for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students who want to pursue a undergraduate certificate in California. LAVC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Valley Glen.

LAVC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,238 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, LAVC is ranked #1 for overall quality for liberal arts / sciences and humanities in California.

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

#2

Cuesta College

San Luis Obispo, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Cuesta College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. Cuesta College is a medium-sized public school located in the small 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.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Cuesta College Report

#3

East Los Angeles College

Monterey Park, CA

The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at East Los Angeles College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in California. East Los Angeles College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Monterey Park.

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

East Los Angeles College also claimed a spot on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

#4

Los Angeles Harbor College

Wilmington, CA

The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at Los Angeles Harbor College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in California. LAHC is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Wilmington.

LAHC undergraduate students pay an average of $1,238 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

#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 school with a fairly large student population.

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

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Los Angeles City College also did well on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

#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 medium-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

#7

Chaffey College

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Chaffey 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 #7 on the list. Chaffey College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Rancho Cucamonga.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Chaffey College are $1,184 per year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Chaffey College Report

#8

Santa Ana College

Santa Ana, CA

Santa Ana College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Undergraduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Santa Ana, SAC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SAC are $1,180 per year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Santa Ana College

With a ranking of #9, Los Angeles Mission College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their undergraduate certificate. Los Angeles Mission College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Sylmar.

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

Read More…

#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 large city of San Jose, San Jose City College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose City College are $1,366 per year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at San Jose City College

Best 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

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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