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Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

9 Colleges
$20,976 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$27,456 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Liberal Arts General Studies School for You

Liberal Arts General Studies is the #123 most popular major in California with 121 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 9 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for liberal arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California

Check out the liberal arts programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality in Liberal Arts General Studies

#1

San Francisco State University

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

Our analysis found San Francisco State University to be the best value school for liberal arts general studies students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at San Francisco State University

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 9 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - Northridge

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means California State University - Los Angeles is a great value for liberal arts general studies students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public school with a very large student population.

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

Read More…

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
$8,136 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means San Diego State University is a great value for liberal arts general studies students. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

SDSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,136 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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$7,060 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 9 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the # 5 spot on the list. CSUDH is a large public school located in the small city of Carson.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUDH are $7,060 per year.

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$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts general studies students. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - Sacramento Report

#7

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA
$45,388 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts general studies students. Located in the city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MSMU are $45,388 per year.

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$47,910 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, Dominican University of California did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts general studies students. Located in the city of San Rafael, DUofC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at DUofC are $47,910 a year.

Full Liberal Arts General Studies at Dominican University of California Report

$51,768 Average Tuition & Fees

Saint Mary’s College of California did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for liberal arts general studies students. It came in at #9 on the list. SMC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Moraga.

SMC undergraduate students pay an average of $51,768 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

SMC also claimed a spot on our Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

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Best Value Liberal Arts General Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 0
Oregon 23
Nevada 0
Alaska 7

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 9 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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