2023 Best Value Philosophy Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Philosophy School for You
Philosophy is the #59 most popular major in California with 1,876 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Philosophy Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for philosophy 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 Philosophy Schools
Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Fresno the best value school in California for philosophy students. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Fresno State are $6,653 per year. On average, philosophy graduates from Fresno State take out $14,824 in student loans while working on their degree.
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The excellent programs at California State University - Northridge helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best philosophy schools in California. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUN are $7,043 a year. Philosophy majors at CSUN take out an average of $11,750 in student loans while working on their egree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Francisco State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in California list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year. On average, philosophy graduates from SFSU take out $16,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Philosophy at San Francisco State University Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Philosophy Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year. On average, philosophy graduates from Cal State Fullerton take out $14,203 in student loans while working on their degree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Cal State LA undergraduate students pay an average of $6,785 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, philosophy majors at Cal State LA accumulate an average of around $10,955 in student debt.
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University of California - Davis came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools in California ranking. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Davis are $14,645 per year. On average, philosophy graduates from UC Davis take out $13,200 in student loans while working on their degree.
UC Davis also claimed a spot on our Best Philosophy Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
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California State University - Sacramento came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools in California ranking. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year. The average amount in student loans that philosophy majors at Sac State take out is $15,382.
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California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.
Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students pay an average of $7,439 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools in California ranking. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UCSB undergraduate students pay an average of $14,417 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Philosophy majors at UCSB take out an average of $15,149 in student loans while working on their egree.
In addition to its great value ranking, UCSB is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Philosophy Schools in California list.
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Biola University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools in California ranking. Biola is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of La Mirada.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Biola are $44,382 per year.
Full Philosophy at Biola University Report
Request InformationBest Value Philosophy Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Philosophy Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 244 |
| Oregon | 107 |
| Nevada | 57 |
| Hawaii | 27 |
| Alaska | 4 |
More Philosophy Rankings in California
Majors Related to Philosophy
Philosophy is one of 3 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Majors Related to Philosophy
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Religious Studies | 9,470 |
| Other Philosophy & Religious Studies | 285 |
| General Philosophy & Religious Studies | 184 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 16 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.