2025 Best History Schools in California
30
Colleges in California
5,237
History Degrees Awarded
$33,218
Avg Early-Career Salary
History degree programs are on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of popularity. In fact, the major ranks #23 out of the 38 majors we look at each year. As such, your educational options may be more limited than if you were in a more popular field.
College Factual reviewed 30 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of history. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,237 degrees in history annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great History School
The history program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for History rankings. We derive our Best Overall History School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your History Degree Level
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best History Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.
Best Schools for History in California
The schools below may not offer all types of history degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
10 Top California Schools in History
Every student who is interested in history has to check out University of California - Santa Barbara. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.
There were roughly 164 history students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the history program earn around $29,749 for their early career.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Santa Barbara
University of California - Los Angeles is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in history. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 265 history students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the history program state that they receive average early career wages of $28,116.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Los Angeles
Bachelors
Degree Type
BA in History
Program Name
Gain a rich foundation of knowledge ranging from early history to modern times with this online bachelor's degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University.
More information about a degree in BA in History from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
It's difficult to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a degree in history. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were about 97 history students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the history major at University of Southern California make $3,658 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in history from University of Southern California
Every student pursuing a degree in history has to look into University of California - Berkeley. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were about 157 history students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, history degree recipients generally make an average of $28,849 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Berkeley
Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were roughly 129 history students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, history degree recipients usually make about $31,895 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Davis
Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #219 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCR is a great university overall.
There were about 128 history students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the history program report average early career earnings of $29,824.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Riverside
UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the city of Santa Cruz. A Best Colleges rank of #91 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Santa Cruz is a great university overall.
There were roughly 95 history students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, history degree recipients generally earn about $33,081 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Santa Cruz
Masters
Degree Type
MA in History
Program Name
The online Master of Arts in History degree program can deepen your understanding of how history is made.
More information about a degree in MA in History from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
UCSD is a very large public university located in the city of La Jolla. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.
There were about 93 history students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the history program report average early career wages of $21,713.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - San Diego
UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the large city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were approximately 87 history students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, history degree recipients generally earn an average of $23,480 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Irvine
Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 40th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 122 history students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the history program state that they receive average early career wages of $32,824.
More information about a degree in history from California State University - Sacramento
