2023 Best Value Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Social Sciences Master'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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 38 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master'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.
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2023 Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California
Check out the social sciences master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.
Top 10 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Irvine the best value school in California for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Irvine
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 master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State East Bay are $8,429 per year.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Fresno is a great value for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
Fresno State graduate students pay an average of $8,087 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at California State University - Fresno
Out of the 38 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at San Jose State are $9,286 per year.
Read full report on Social Sciences at San Jose State University
The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in California. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very 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 Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - Berkeley
University of California - San Diego landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social sciences programs. UCSD is a fairly large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.
UCSD graduate students pay an average of $13,564 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSD also is in the top 20% of our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking.
Read full report on Social Sciences at University of California - San Diego
California State University - Fullerton came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 per year.
Full Social Sciences at California State University - Fullerton Report
University of California - Los Angeles ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCLA are $13,036 per year.
UCLA also took the #4 spot in our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California rankings.
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $11,629 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also did well on our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
With a ranking of #10, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.
Sac State graduate students pay an average of $8,826 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Social Sciences at California State University - Sacramento Report
Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Social Sciences Schools 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 |
More Social Sciences Rankings in California
Social Sciences Related Majors for 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 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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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