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Best Value Anthropology Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Anthropology Master's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

21 Colleges
$15,674 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,722 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Anthropology Master's Degree School for You

Anthropology is the #93 most popular major in California with 193 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Value Anthropology Master's Degree 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 21 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for anthropology 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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Anthropology Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Anthropology Master's Degree Schools

#1

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

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

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SFSU are $8,738 per year.

Full Anthropology at San Francisco State University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 per year.

Full Anthropology at California State University - Fullerton Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value anthropology schools in California. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Anthropology at San Jose State University Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value anthropology schools in California. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCLA did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read full report on Anthropology at University of California - Los Angeles

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Sacramento is a great value for anthropology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Sac State graduate students pay an average of $8,826 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Anthropology at California State University - Sacramento Report

California State University - Los Angeles came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State LA are $8,219 a year.

Read More…

University of California - Irvine did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for anthropology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Irvine are $13,356 a year.

Read More…

University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for anthropology students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Berkeley are $14,160 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 #2 for overall quality for anthropology in California.

Full Anthropology at University of California - Berkeley Report

University of California - San Diego came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UCSD graduate students pay an average of $13,564 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSD also is in the top 20% of our Best Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

Read More…

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Anthropology Master’s Degree Schools in California list. UCSB is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSB are $13,581 a year.

Full Anthropology at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

Best Value Anthropology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Anthropology Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 13
Oregon 28
Nevada 12
Hawaii 11
Alaska 6

Anthropology is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 6,173
International Relations & National Security 5,010
Political Science & Government 2,664
Geography & Cartography 2,315
Sociology 1,907

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 21 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 Deror avi.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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