2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 3rd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 559,661 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,678 and $19,082 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 5,907 liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 50 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts / sciences and humanities. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs that also have a lower cost than 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 / sciences and humanities program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. San Luis Obispo, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 108 students in 2019-2020.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Out of the 50 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the #2 spot on the list. CSUN is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 320 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
CSUN not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Northridge is $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Monterey Bay. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. California State University - Monterey Bay is located in Seaside, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 282 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
CSUMB also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #16. It costs about $12,212 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students per year to attend California State University - Monterey Bay.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at CSUMB
Out of the 50 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #4 spot on the list. Fresno State is a public institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 485 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Fresno State also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #22. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $5,464 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
The low student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Fresno State
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. California State University - Long Beach is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 240 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
CSULB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Long Beach is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Full California State University - Long Beach Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
California State University - Stanislaus landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Stan State is a fairly large public school situated in Turlock, California. It awarded 235 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Stan State also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #18. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Stanislaus is $6,019 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Stanislaus
Brandman University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in Irvine, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 170 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
Brandman did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Brandman is $21,604 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Brandman University
California State University - San Bernardino landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California State University - San Bernardino is a fairly large school located in San Bernardino, California that handed out 315 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for California State University - San Bernardino is $7,342 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Full California State University - San Bernardino Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Sonoma State University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Rohnert Park, California, and it awarded 148 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
SSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $17,478 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students per year to attend Sonoma State University.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
California State University - San Marcos ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. CSUSM is a fairly large school located in San Marcos, California that handed out 185 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
CSUSM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $13,399 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students per year to attend CSUSM.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at CSUSM
California State University - Chico did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Chico, California, this fairly large public school awarded 210 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Chico is $15,017 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The low student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Chico State Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
San Diego State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #12. Located in San Diego, California, this large public school handed out 214 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
SDSU also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend San Diego State University.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #13, San Francisco State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in San Francisco, California, this large public school awarded 125 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
SFSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend SFSU.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at SFSU
California State University - East Bay landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California State University - East Bay is a fairly large school located in Hayward, California that handed out 95 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $11,116 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students per year to attend Cal State East Bay.
Full California State University - East Bay Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
National University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 22 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students list, National University has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.
The low student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full National University Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
San Jose State University landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. San Jose State University is located in San Jose, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 56 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
San Jose State also took the #19 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend San Jose State.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at San Jose State
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This large school is located in Pomona, California, and it awarded 130 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly Pomona, the school also landed the #25 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Cal Poly Pomona
California State University - Channel Islands landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. CSUCI is a medium-sized public school situated in Camarillo, California. It awarded 126 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $13,558 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend CSUCI.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at CSUCI
California State University - Sacramento did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #19. Sac State is located in Sacramento, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 189 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
It costs about $9,979 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students per year to attend California State University - Sacramento.
The low student loan default rate of 4.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Sacramento
California State University - Bakersfield came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This fairly large school is located in Bakersfield, California, and it awarded 265 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Bakersfield is $5,318 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
Full California State University - Bakersfield Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
California State University - Los Angeles came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Cal State LA is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 180 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for Cal State LA is $2,768 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Los Angeles Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
California State University - Fullerton landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Cal State Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 125 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $7,991 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend Cal State Fullerton.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Fullerton
California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #23. CSUDH is a fairly large school located in Carson, California that handed out 150 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $4,215 for california bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students per year to attend CSUDH.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at CSUDH
Thomas Aquinas College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. TAC is located in Santa Paula, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 95 bachelors’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at TAC, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend TAC is $25,526 for California Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities students.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Thomas Aquinas College
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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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).
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