2023 Best Value Colleges for Architecture (Income $0-$30k) in California
4
Ranked Colleges
335
Degrees Awarded
$11,300
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value architecture Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 4,854 people earned their degree in architecture, making the major the 147th most popular in the United States.
Across California, there were 335 architecture graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value architecture Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in architecture. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality architecture programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the architecture program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Architecture Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value architecture Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Best Value architecture Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for california architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Architecture (Income $0-$30k) in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value architecture Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 129 ’s architecture degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Architecture Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Berkeley is $8,450 for California architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Architecture at University of California - Berkeley
Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value architecture Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #2 spot on the list. University of California - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 26 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california architecture students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCLA has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Architecture Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $9,037 for california architecture students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Los Angeles.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Architecture at UCLA
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value architecture Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Pomona, California, and it awarded 102 ’s architecture degrees in 2020-2021.
Cal Poly Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Architecture Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $10,349 for california architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona
Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value architecture Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 11 ’s architecture degrees in 2020-2021.
USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Architecture Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend USC is $17,287 for California architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Architecture at USC
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Danichou.