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Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California

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2023 Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

38 Colleges
$11,361 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$29,193 Avg Salary

Finding the Best English Language & Literature School for You

In 2020-2021, 912 degrees and certificates were awarded to English language and literature students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #17 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 38 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for English language and literature students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

2023 Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California

Check out the English language and literature programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best English Language & Literature Schools

$7,852 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for English language and literature students. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best English Language & Literature Schools in California list.

Full English Language & Literature at San Jose State University Report

$10,195 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $10,195 a year.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best English Language & Literature Schools in California list.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Sacramento. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year.

Read More…

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year.

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 English language and literature in California.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at University of California - Berkeley

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year.

Full English Language & Literature at California State University - Los Angeles Report

#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$7,304 Average Tuition & Fees

San Francisco State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in California list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

SFSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, California State University - Northridge did quite well on this year’s best value schools for English language and literature students. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUN are $7,043 a year.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at California State University - Northridge

$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - East Bay landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value English language and literature programs. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 per year.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at California State University - East Bay

$14,700 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s best value schools for English language and literature students. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCSD are $14,700 a year.

Read More…

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value English language and literature programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCLA are $13,258 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UCLA is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best English Language & Literature Schools in California list.

Full English Language & Literature at University of California - Los Angeles Report

Best Value English Language & Literature Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value English Language & Literature Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 138
Oregon 92
Nevada 49
Hawaii 11
Alaska 16

English Language & Literature Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
General English Literature 4,966
Writing Studies 4,263
English Literature (Other) 175
Literature 162

Related Major Annual Graduates
Visual & Performing Arts 18,379
Theology & Religious Vocations 17,287
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 4,163
Philosophy & Religious Studies 3,136
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 2,680

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 Mike Hazard.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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