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Best Value Sociology Master's Degree Schools in California

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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.

2023 Best Value Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the sociology master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

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 fairly large public school located in the city of San Jose.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,160 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #2 for overall quality for sociology in California.

Read full report on Sociology at University of California - Berkeley

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fullerton.

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

Full Sociology at California State University - Fullerton Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCLA are $13,036 a year.

UCLA also took the #4 spot in our Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California rankings.

Read full report on Sociology at University of California - Los Angeles

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Irvine helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value sociology schools in California. UC Irvine is a very 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

San Diego State University 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a very large student population.

SDSU graduate students pay an average of $9,570 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Sociology at San Diego State University Report

California State University - Sacramento came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Full Sociology at California State University - Sacramento Report

California State University - Northridge ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUN are $8,477 per year.

Full Sociology at California State University - Northridge Report

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on this year’s best value schools for sociology students working on their master’s degree. CSUDH is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carson.

CSUDH graduate students pay an average of $8,494 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Sociology at California State University - Dominguez Hills

University of California - San Diego landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree sociology programs. Located in the 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 excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Full Sociology at University of California - San Diego Report

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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