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2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid

7 Ranked Colleges
135 Degrees Awarded
$19,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master's in California For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts general studies students received their degree, making the major the 1st most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 112,019 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,678 and $19,082 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 135 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts general studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts general studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the liberal arts general studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The liberal arts school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid”.

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 Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 7 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies in California (With Aid)

#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid. California State University - Dominguez Hills is a public institution located in Carson, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 12 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUDH, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at CSUDH are $17,884, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at CSUDH

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Northridge, California, and it awarded 19 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUN not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Northridge are $17,955, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at California State University - Northridge

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid. SDSU 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.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SDSU, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full SDSU Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#4

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s liberal arts degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree liberal arts students with aid list, SFSU has also earned the #0 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at San Francisco State University are $17,944.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at San Francisco State University

#5

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #5 spot on the list. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 10 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

MSMU also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Mount Saint Mary’s University are $12,612, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Mount Saint Mary’s University Liberal Arts General Studies Report

Saint Mary’s College of California landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. 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 arts degrees to qualified students.

SMC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Saint Mary’s College of California are $33,509.

Full SMC Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#7

Dominican University of California

San Rafael, California
#5 in overall quality

Dominican University of California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Located in San Rafael, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 degrees to qualified masters’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree liberal arts students with aid list, DUofC has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DUofC are $16,520, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full DUofC Liberal Arts General Studies Report

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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

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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