2023 Best Value Philosophy Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Philosophy
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 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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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 small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Davis are $13,608 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Biola University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Biola is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of La Mirada.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Biola are $12,006 a year.
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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 #4 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Cal State LA graduate students pay an average of $8,219 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 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 midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $13,581 per year.
Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Santa Barbara
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University of California - Riverside did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for philosophy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UCR graduate students pay an average of $13,467 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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University of California - Berkeley landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree philosophy programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly 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
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University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for philosophy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the small city of Santa Cruz.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Santa Cruz are $13,895 per year.
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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 |
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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 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.