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Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

48 Colleges
$8,542 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$35,065 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree School for You

Social Sciences is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 51,430 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 4th out of all the majors we track in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 48 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for social sciences students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for social sciences majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Social Sciences Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Channel Islands the best value school in California for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

CSUCI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,817 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Sciences at California State University - Channel Islands Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

Cal State East Bay undergraduate students pay an average of $6,995 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State University - Fresno helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in California. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Fresno State are $6,653 per year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at California State University - Fresno

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at San Jose State University

#5

Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park, CA

Out of the 48 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Sonoma State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Rohnert Park, SSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SSU are $7,988 a year.

Full Social Sciences at Sonoma State University Report

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State LA are $6,785 a year.

Full Social Sciences at California State University - Los Angeles Report

California State University - San Marcos landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree social sciences programs. CSUSM is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of San Marcos.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUSM are $7,727 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at California State University - San Marcos

#8

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree social sciences programs. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

SFSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Sciences at San Francisco State University Report

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year.

Full Social Sciences at California State University - Fullerton Report

California State University - Long Beach came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at California State University - Long Beach

Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 3,812
Oregon 2,748
Hawaii 586
Nevada 925
Alaska 90

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Economics 49,055
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415
Criminology 11,039
Geography & Cartography 8,526
Other Social Sciences 2,414
Urban Studies 1,507
Sociology & Anthropology 541
Archeology 339
Demography & Population Studies 88

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 327,871
Psychology 195,678
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820
History 32,731

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 AndrГ© KГјnzelmann.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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