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Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$24,980 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$51,829 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate School for You

Social Sciences is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 2,501 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 10th out of all the majors we track in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in California to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for social sciences 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 Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in California

Check out the social sciences graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Social Sciences

Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for social sciences students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

Full Social Sciences at San Jose State University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the large 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 Social Sciences at California State University - Long Beach Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate 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 graduate students at Cal State LA are $8,219 per year.

Read full report on Social Sciences at California State University - Los Angeles

Out of the 7 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public college with a large student population.

CSUDH graduate students pay an average of $8,494 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Social Sciences at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Claremont Graduate University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Claremont Graduate University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Claremont.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Claremont Graduate University are $36,380 a year.

Claremont Graduate University also took the #5 spot in our Best Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in California rankings.

Read More…

University of Southern California came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at USC are $61,396 a year.

Read More…

Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for social sciences students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Middlebury Institute is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of Monterey.

Middlebury Institute graduate students pay an average of $42,804 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 147
Oregon 280
Nevada 63
Hawaii 63
Alaska 7

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 6,173
International Relations & National Security 5,010
Political Science & Government 2,664
Geography & Cartography 2,315
Sociology 1,907
Anthropology 1,446
Criminology 936
General Social Sciences 745
Other Social Sciences 532
Urban Studies 432
Archeology 66
Demography & Population Studies 66

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 199,724
Psychology 42,013
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 7 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 AndrГ© KГјnzelmann.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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