2025 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California
85Colleges in California
118,322Liberal Arts Degrees Awarded
$31,562Avg Early-Career Salary
Liberal Arts General Studies is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #1 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 85 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 118,322 degrees in liberal arts general studies annually.
Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School
The liberal arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies rankings. For our Best Overall Liberal Arts General Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Liberal Arts General Studies Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies in California
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the liberal arts degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It is hard to beat Saint Mary's College of California if you want to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. SMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Moraga. A Best Colleges rank of #148 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SMC is a great college overall.
There were roughly 79 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SMC in the most recent year we have data available. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from Saint Mary's College of California earn $24,532 more than the standard liberal arts grad.
California State University - Sacramento is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #267 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Sac State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 170 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent data year. After graduating, liberal arts degree recipients typically make around $30,286 at the beginning of their careers.
Thomas Aquinas College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in liberal arts general studies. TAC is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the rural area of Santa Paula. A Best Colleges rank of #140 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means TAC is a great college overall.
There were about 115 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at TAC in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn about $33,432 for their early career.
Any student who is interested in liberal arts general studies has to check out California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #165 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.
There were roughly 107 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo receive $3,494 more than the average liberal arts grad.
Located in the large city of Irvine, Irvine Valley College is a public college with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #146 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Irvine Valley College is a great college overall.
There were approximately 3458 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Irvine Valley College in the most recent year we have data available.
SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #185 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.
There were about 239 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, liberal arts degree recipients typically earn around $23,190 at the beginning of their careers.
MJC is a large public college located in the medium-sized city of Modesto. A Best Colleges rank of #230 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means MJC is a great college overall.
There were roughly 550 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at MJC in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, liberal arts degree recipients typically make about $27,927 in their early careers.
SFSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #225 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SFSU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 103 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $32,112.
Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 48th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 302 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, liberal arts degree recipients typically make about $33,353 in their early careers.
Azusa Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Azusa. A Best Colleges rank of #143 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Azusa Pacific is a great university overall.
There were about 81 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Azusa Pacific in the most recent data year. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from Azusa Pacific University earn $3,632 more than the average liberal arts student.
Located in the midsize city of Chico, Chico State is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 64th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 216 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Chico State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, liberal arts degree recipients typically earn about $27,196 at the beginning of their careers.
CSUMB is a moderately-sized public university located in the suburb of Seaside. This university ranks 72nd out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 242 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at CSUMB in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career income of $30,413.
Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #222 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Loyola Marymount is a great university overall.
There were roughly 19 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Marymount in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Orange, SCC is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 49th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 1464 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SCC in the most recent data year. After graduation, liberal arts degree recipients usually earn about $33,437 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the large suburb of Huntington Beach, Golden West College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This college ranks 52nd out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 5334 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Golden West College in the most recent data year.
CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the city of Long Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #246 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.
There were approximately 279 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, liberal arts degree recipients usually earn an average of $31,802 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the large suburb of Mission Viejo, Saddleback College is a public college with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #332 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Saddleback College is a great college overall.
There were about 3951 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Saddleback College in the most recent data year. After graduation, liberal arts degree recipients usually make about $18,646 in their early careers.
Here are some additional great schools for Liberal Arts General Studies students in the state of California that almost earned our Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California award.
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).
The liberal arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies rankings. For our Best Overall Liberal Arts General Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
