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Best Value Philosophy Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Philosophy Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

8 Colleges
$12,238 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,396 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Philosophy Master's Degree 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Philosophy Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for philosophy 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.

2023 Best Value Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Philosophy Master's Degree Colleges.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Philosophy

#1

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

Our analysis found San Francisco State University to be the best value school for philosophy students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SFSU are $8,738 a year.

Read full report on Philosophy at San Francisco State University

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Davis is a great value for philosophy students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

UC Davis graduate students pay an average of $13,608 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Philosophy at University of California - Davis Report

#3

Biola University

La Mirada, CA

Out of the 8 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Biola University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Biola is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of La Mirada.

Biola graduate students pay an average of $12,006 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Philosophy at Biola University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State LA are $8,219 per year.

Read full report on Philosophy at California State University - Los Angeles

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UCSB graduate students pay an average of $13,581 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Santa Barbara

University of California - Riverside ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCR are $13,467 per year.

Full Philosophy at University of California - Riverside Report

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on this year’s best value schools for philosophy students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UC Berkeley did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Philosophy at University of California - Berkeley Report

University of California - Santa Cruz ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Santa Cruz are $13,895 a year.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Santa Cruz

Best Value Philosophy Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Philosophy Colleges 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

Philosophy is one of 3 different types of programs to choose from.

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 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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