2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Liberal Arts is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 2nd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 365,980 degrees were awarded to students with this major.

Across California, there were 94,556 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 42 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” 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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california master’s degree liberal studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

#2 in overall quality

$18,658 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Liberal Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at San Diego State University

#2

Saint Mary's College of California

Moraga, California

#1 in overall quality

$33,509 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Saint Mary’s College of California. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Saint Mary’s College of California is located in Moraga, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 masters’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

SMC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Liberal Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Saint Mary’s College of California are $33,509, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Saint Mary’s College of California Liberal Arts Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts (Income $30-$48k)

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

Footnotes

• *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.

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