2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Urban Studies School for You
With 361 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, urban studies is the #149 most popular major in California.
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 Urban Studies Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 12 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for urban studies 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.
Top 10 Best Urban Studies Schools
Our analysis found San Francisco State University to be the best value school for urban studies students who want to pursue a degree in California. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year. Urban Studies majors at SFSU take out an average of $20,301 in student loans while working on their egree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Urban Studies Schools in California list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year. While working on their degree, urban studies majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $15,000 in student debt.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #3 for overall quality for urban studies in California.
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Out of the 12 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the # 3 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 undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, San Jose State also is in the top 20% of our Best Urban Studies Schools in California ranking.
Full Urban Studies at San Jose State University Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Urban Studies Schools in California list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.
CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, urban studies majors at CSUN accumulate an average of around $13,612 in student debt.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Urban Studies Schools in California list. SDSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Diego.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SDSU are $8,136 a year.
Full Urban Studies at San Diego State University Report
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California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for urban studies students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the 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.
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University of California - San Diego ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Urban Studies Schools in California list. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCSD are $14,700 per year. While working on their degree, urban studies majors at UCSD accumulate an average of around $14,863 in student debt.
In addition to its great value ranking, UCSD is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Urban Studies Schools in California list.
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University of California - Irvine ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Urban Studies Schools in California list. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Irvine are $13,775 a year. While working on their degree, urban studies majors at UC Irvine accumulate an average of around $14,891 in student debt.
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Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for urban studies students. It came in at #9 on the list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Stanford are $56,169 per year.
Stanford also took the #1 spot in our Best Urban Studies Schools in California rankings.
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University of San Francisco came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Urban Studies Schools in California ranking. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USFCA are $53,472 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, USFCA is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Urban Studies Schools in California list.
Full Urban Studies at University of San Francisco Report
Request InformationBest Value Urban Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Urban Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 37 |
| Oregon | 32 |
| Nevada | 35 |
More Urban Studies Rankings in California
Urban Studies Related Majors for Urban Studies
One of 12 majors within the area of study, urban studies has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Urban Studies
| Related 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 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 12 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 Andrew Bossi.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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