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Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

48 Colleges
$9,529 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$50,291 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, general education students earned 6,275 degrees and certificates from a California school, making the subject the 2nd in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 48 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for education students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best General Education Master's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Sacramento the best value school in California for general education students working on their master’s degree. Sac State is a very large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Sac State are $8,826 a year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.

Full General Education at California State University - Long Beach Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Channel Islands. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize suburb of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

CSUCI graduate students pay an average of $8,251 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at California State University - Channel Islands Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a great value for general education students working on their master’s degree. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the suburb of Pomona.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Poly Pomona are $8,873 per year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Fresno helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value general education schools in California. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the 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 General Education at California State University - Fresno

With a ranking of #6, California State University - San Marcos did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. CSUSM is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of San Marcos.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUSM are $9,161 per year.

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California State University - Fullerton ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 a year.

Read full report on General Education at California State University - Fullerton

With a ranking of #8, California State University - San Bernardino did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. CSUSB is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUSB are $8,647 per year.

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San Jose State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general education programs. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at San Jose State are $9,286 a year.

Full General Education at San Jose State University Report

California State University - Bakersfield landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general education programs. Located in the city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

CSUB graduate students pay an average of $9,013 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Best Value General Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value General Education Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 419
Oregon 367
Nevada 36
Hawaii 10
Alaska 26

General Education is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Education

Related Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific 34,451
Special Education 25,158
Teacher Education Subject Specific 20,616
Curriculum & Instruction 19,784

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 KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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