2022 Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in California

Liberal Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #125 most popular master's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2022 ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools in California to determine which ones were the most popular for liberal arts students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 42 master's degrees in liberal arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Other Rankings

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Liberal Arts School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of school for getting your master's degree in liberal studies matters. One of the reasons we created our Most Popular Master's Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in California ranking is to help you make that choice.

Being popular does not always equate to overall quality, but a school with a large number of liberal arts students usually has them for a reason. This may be due to it being a great value, it offering a stellar educational experience, or the subject is a major focus of the school.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts Schools

This ranking is just one of the many we have created. First of all, if you are interested in other degree levels, you may want to take a look at one of the rankings highlighted above. Also, if you are interested in attending school in a specific part of the country, see our rankings by location. Plus, you can view our other rankings for liberal arts.

 

Most Popular Schools for Master’s Students to Study Liberal Arts in California

The following list ranks the most popular colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in liberal arts.

Most Well Attended Schools for Liberal Studies Students Working on Their Master's

1

Stanford University
Stanford, CA

18 Annual Master's Degrees

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Stanford University if you want to pursue a master's degree in liberal arts. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

There were about 18 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a master’s in liberal arts from Stanford University

2

San Diego State University
San Diego, CA

13 Annual Master's Degrees

#2 Best Quality In CA

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

San Diego State University is one of the most popular schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in liberal arts. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #2 in quality for master's degrees in liberal arts in California.

There were approximately 13 liberal arts students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent data year.

More information about a master’s in liberal arts from San Diego State University

3

Saint Mary's College of California
Moraga, CA

11 Annual Master's Degrees

#1 Best Quality In CA

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Saint Mary's College of California if you want to pursue a master's degree in liberal arts. Located in the large suburb of Moraga, SMC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. Potential students might also be interested to know that the school ranks #1 in quality for master's degrees in liberal arts in California.

There were roughly 11 liberal arts individuals who graduated with this degree at SMC in the most recent data year.

More information about a master’s in liberal arts from Saint Mary’s College of California

4

California State University - Sacramento
Sacramento, CA

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at California State University - Sacramento if you want to pursue a master's degree in liberal arts. Sac State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Sacramento. More information about a master’s in liberal arts from California State University - Sacramento

4

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at University of Southern California if you want to pursue a master's degree in liberal arts. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. More information about a master’s in liberal arts from University of Southern California

 

Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular Liberal Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Oregon	282	5
Alaska	69	6

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Rankings in Majors Related to Liberal Studies

One of 3 majors within the Liberal Arts General Studies area of study, Liberal Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Liberal Studies

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Humanities	88
General Studies	5

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.