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Best Value Sociology Master's Degree Schools in California

2023 Best Value Sociology Master's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

19 Colleges
$13,583 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$42,092 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Sociology Master's Degree School for You

Sociology is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 15,498 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 6th out of all the majors we track in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 Best Value Sociology Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 19 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for sociology students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Top 10 Best Sociology Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for sociology students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at San Jose State are $9,286 per year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

Cal State Fullerton graduate students pay an average of $8,410 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value sociology schools in California. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UCLA is ranked #4 for overall quality for sociology in California.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Irvine is a great value for sociology students working on their master’s degree. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.

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#6

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

With a ranking of #6, San Diego State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for sociology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SDSU are $9,570 a year.

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California State University - Sacramento landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree sociology programs. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Sac State are $8,826 per year.

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California State University - Northridge came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUN are $8,477 a year.

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California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for sociology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. CSUDH is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Carson.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUDH are $8,494 a year.

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With a ranking of #10, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s best value schools for sociology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a very large student population.

UCSD graduate students pay an average of $13,564 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCSD also claimed a spot on our Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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Best Value Sociology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 650
Oregon 341
Nevada 120
Hawaii 96
Alaska 5

Sociology is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Sociology

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Economics 49,055
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415

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 Kontos.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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