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Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

29 Colleges
$16,246 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,004 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Fine & Studio Arts School for You

Fine & Studio Arts is the #61 most popular major in California with 386 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 29 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for Fine 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. 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 Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Fine & Studio Arts Schools

$7,852 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for fine and studio arts students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at San Jose State University Report

$6,976 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at California State University - Fullerton helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best fine and studio arts schools in California. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 a year.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at California State University - Fullerton Report

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 29 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSULB are $6,846 per year.

Read full report on Fine & Studio Arts at California State University - Long Beach

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California list. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

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

Read full report on Fine & Studio Arts at California State University - Northridge

#4

San Francisco State University

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California list. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFSU are $7,304 per year.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at San Francisco State University Report

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

University of California - Berkeley landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value fine and studio arts programs. Located in the 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.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California list.

Read More…

$7,864 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Chico did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for fine and studio arts students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Chico, Chico State is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Chico State are $7,864 a year.

Read More…

#8

San Diego State University

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

San Diego State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California ranking. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SDSU are $8,136 per year.

Read full report on Fine & Studio Arts at San Diego State University

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Fresno ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Schools in California list. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for fine and studio arts students. It came in at #10 on the list. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at California State University - Sacramento Report

Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Fine & Studio Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 12
Oregon 46
Nevada 6
Hawaii 5
Alaska 3

Fine & Studio Arts is one of 9 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 7,675
Design & Applied Arts 1,979
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,704
Drama & Theater Arts 1,699
Arts & Media Management 1,184

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 Jorge Royan.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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