2023 Best Value Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Social Sciences School for You
In 2020-2021, 205,984 social sciences students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #6 most popular in the country.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 81 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for social sciences 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 15% Best Social Sciences Schools
Our analysis found Santa Rosa Junior College to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a degree in the Far Western US Region . Located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SRJC are $8,952 a year.
SRJC also claimed a spot on our Best Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means East Los Angeles College is a great value for social sciences students. Located in the suburb of Monterey Park, East Los Angeles College is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at East Los Angeles College are $9,012 per year. Social Sciences majors at East Los Angeles College take out an average of $5,500 in student loans while working on their egree.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Butte College is a great value for social sciences students. Located in the rural area of Oroville, Butte College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Butte College are $7,848 per year. On average, social sciences graduates from Butte College take out $10,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Channel Islands is a great value for social sciences students. CSUCI is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Camarillo.
CSUCI undergraduate students pay an average of $18,697 in tuition and fees each year. On average, social sciences graduates from CSUCI take out $18,148 in student loans while working on their degree.
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California State University - East Bay came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $18,875 per year. The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at Cal State East Bay take out is $16,425.
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With a ranking of #7, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Jose State are $19,732 a year.
San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region list.
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Antelope Valley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for social sciences students. It came in at #8 on the list. Antelope Valley College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Lancaster.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Antelope Valley College are $6,980 a year. The average amount in student loans that social sciences majors at Antelope Valley College take out is $13,530.
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Sonoma State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. SSU is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Rohnert Park.
SSU undergraduate students pay an average of $19,868 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, social sciences majors at SSU accumulate an average of around $19,326 in student debt.
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California State University - Fresno did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for social sciences students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Fresno State are $18,533 a year. While working on their degree, social sciences majors at Fresno State accumulate an average of around $13,874 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #11, American River College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students. American River is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Sacramento.
American River undergraduate students pay an average of $10,168 in tuition and fees each year.
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California State University - San Marcos landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value social sciences programs. Located in the suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CSUSM are $19,607 a year. Social Sciences majors at CSUSM take out an average of $18,262 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Social Sciences students in the Far Western US Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Social Sciences Schools in the Far Western US Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Claremont McKenna College | Claremont, CA |
| 14 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 15 | California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton, CA |
| 16 | Azusa Pacific University | Azusa, CA |
| 16 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona | Pomona, CA |
Best Social Sciences Colleges by State
Explore the best social sciences schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| California | 51,430 |
| Washington | 3,812 |
| Oregon | 2,748 |
| Hawaii | 586 |
| Nevada | 925 |
| Alaska | 90 |
More Social Sciences Rankings in the Far Western US Region
Majors Related to Social Sciences
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 |
Majors Similar to Social Sciences
| 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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