2023 Best Value Economics Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Economics Master's Degree School for You
Economics is the #19 most popular major in the country with 49,055 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Economics Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 31 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for economics 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 Economics Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found California State University - East Bay to be the best value school for economics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Far Western US Region . Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State East Bay are $17,933 per year.
Full Economics at California State University - East Bay Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $29,262 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #3 for overall quality for economics in the Far Western US Region .
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $21,133 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also is in the top 10% of our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at San Jose State are $18,790 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, San Jose State also did well on our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value economics schools in the Far Western US Region . Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.
UCLA graduate students pay an average of $28,138 in tuition and fees each year.
UCLA also made our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list, coming in at #5.
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University of California - Irvine ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $28,458 per year.
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With a ranking of #7, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on this year’s best value schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UCSB are $28,683 a year.
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University of Nevada - Reno landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree economics programs. UNR is a very large public school located in the large city of Reno.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNR are $22,380 per year.
Full Economics at University of Nevada - Reno Report
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San Diego State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. SDSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Diego.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SDSU are $19,074 per year.
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University of California - San Diego landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree economics programs. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSD are $28,666 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSD also is in the top 20% of our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking.
Full Economics at University of California - San Diego Report
Request InformationBest Economics Colleges by State
Explore the best economics schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| California | 10,510 |
| Washington | 713 |
| Oregon | 596 |
| Nevada | 147 |
| Hawaii | 92 |
| Alaska | 17 |
More Economics Rankings in the Far Western US Region
Economics Related Majors for Economics
Economics is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
| Sociology | 38,475 |
| General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
| International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
| Anthropology | 11,415 |
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 pixabay.
More about our data sources and methodologies.