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Most Popular Religious Studies Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Religious Studies Master's Degree Schools in California

19 Colleges
$46,774 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Religious Studies Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 420 degrees and certificates were awarded to religious studies students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #137 most popular major in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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 Most Popular Religious Studies Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 19 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Religious Studies program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for religion majors pursuing a master's degree.

#1

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Santa Clara University the most popular school in California for religious studies students working on their master’s degree. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara.

About 65% of the students majoring in religion at the school are women while 35% are male.

Full Religious Studies at Santa Clara University Report

Our 2023 rankings named Claremont School of Theology the most popular school in California for religious studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont School of Theology is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Of the 17 students majoring in religion at Claremont School of Theology, 59% are male and 41% are female.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Claremont Graduate University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Religious Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Claremont Graduate University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Claremont.

Women make up 20% of the religion majors at the school.

Read More…

#4

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Stanford University is a great place for religious studies students working on their master’s degree. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

About 25% of the students majoring in religion at the school are women while 75% are male.

Read full report on Religious Studies at Stanford University

#4

University of the West

Rosemead, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of the West. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Religious Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UWest is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Rosemead.

About 50% of the students majoring in religion at the school are women while 50% are male.

Read More…

University of California - Riverside landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree religious studies programs. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Religious Studies at University of California - Riverside

California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for religious studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

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Academy for Jewish Religion - California landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree religious studies programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Academy for Jewish Religion - California is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Of the 2 students majoring in religion at Academy for Jewish Religion - California, 50% are male and 50% are female.

Read More…

#8

Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

With a ranking of #8, Pepperdine University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for religious studies students working on their master’s degree. Pepperdine is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Malibu.

About 50% of the students majoring in religion at the school are women while 50% are male.

Full Religious Studies at Pepperdine University Report

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for religious studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 2 students majoring in religion at UCSB, 50% are male and 50% are female.

Full Religious Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

Best Religious Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 77
Oregon 27
Hawaii 20

One of 3 majors within the area of study, religious studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Philosophy 10,054
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies 285
General Philosophy & Religious Studies 184

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 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 Sowlos.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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