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Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

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

Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities School for You

Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities is the #32 most popular major in California with 121 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

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.

The Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities 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 9 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities majors pursuing a .

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality in Liberal Arts & Humanities

#1

San Francisco State University

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

Our 2023 rankings named San Francisco State University the best value school in California for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

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

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at San Francisco State University Report

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Northridge helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in California. CSUN is a very large public school located in the city of Northridge.

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

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Northridge Report

$6,785 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in California. 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.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Los Angeles

#3

San Diego State University

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

Out of the 9 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. SDSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Diego.

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

Read More…

$7,060 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Dominguez Hills helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in California. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSUDH are $7,060 a year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Dominguez Hills

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Sacramento ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in California list. Sac State is a very large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

Sac State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,392 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Sacramento Report

#7

Mount Saint Mary's University

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

Mount Saint Mary’s University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in California ranking. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

MSMU undergraduate students pay an average of $45,388 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$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 / sciences and humanities students. DUofC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Rafael.

DUofC undergraduate students pay an average of $47,910 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Dominican University of California Report

$51,768 Average Tuition & Fees

Saint Mary’s College of California landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Located in the suburb of Moraga, SMC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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

SMC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in California list.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Saint Mary’s College of California

Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 0
Oregon 23
Nevada 0
Alaska 7

Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Liberal Arts General Studies 2,680

Related Major Annual Graduates
Visual & Performing Arts 18,379
Theology & Religious Vocations 17,287
English Language & Literature 9,566
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 4,163
Philosophy & Religious Studies 3,136

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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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