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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in California (With Aid)

23 Ranked Colleges
1,233 Degrees Awarded
$17,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Philosophy is the 81st most popular major in the country with 10,015 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, philosophy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,067 and had an average of $22,199 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,774 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,175 and $17,728 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,233 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 23 colleges that offer a degree in philosophy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent philosophy 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 philosophy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Philosophy Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 23 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in California (With Aid)

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. California State University - Northridge is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 29 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid list, CSUN has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid per year to attend CSUN.

The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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 Philosophy at CSUN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full California State University - Long Beach Philosophy Report

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 127 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #2 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid per year to attend UCLA.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UCLA Philosophy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 42 students in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,783 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid per year to attend UC Irvine.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Philosophy at UC Irvine

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. California State University - Fullerton is located in Fullerton, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

Cal State Fullerton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #18 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cal State Fullerton is $7,991 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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 89%.

Read more about Philosophy at California State University - Fullerton

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. University of California - Riverside is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 47 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $12,871 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 University of California - Riverside Philosophy Report

California State University - Fresno landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Fresno State is a public institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #22 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $5,464 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Fresno State Philosophy Report

#8

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 139 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Barbara is $15,884 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Philosophy at UCSB

University of California - Davis ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Davis, California, this large public school awarded 58 degrees to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid list, UC Davis has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Davis is $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, 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 93%.

Read full report on Philosophy at UC Davis

#10

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in San Diego, California, this large public school awarded 26 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $14,788 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Read more about Philosophy at SDSU

#11

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. San Francisco State University is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 35 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

SFSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $15,113 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid per year to attend SFSU.

Read more about Philosophy at San Francisco State University

With a ranking of #12, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 46 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Sac State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #19 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Sacramento is $9,979 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Sacramento Philosophy Report

#13

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

University of California - Berkeley landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 97 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also took the #5 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Berkeley is $15,329 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its 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%.

Full University of California - Berkeley Philosophy Report

#14

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

San Jose State University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in San Jose, California, this large public school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

San Jose State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State is $14,928 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full San Jose State University Philosophy Report

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is a large school located in Pomona, California that handed out 23 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #20 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid per year to attend Cal Poly Pomona.

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%.

Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Philosophy Report

#16

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 54 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $18,186 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Santa Cruz

California State University - East Bay landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. This fairly large school is located in Hayward, California, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid list, Cal State East Bay has also earned the #23 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - East Bay is $11,116 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

Read more about Philosophy at California State University - East Bay

#18

Westmont College

Santa Barbara, California
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #18, Westmont College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Westmont College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Westmont not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $31,145 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid per year to attend Westmont.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Philosophy at Westmont College

#19

California Baptist University

Riverside, California
#21 in overall quality

California Baptist University landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Riverside, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

Cal Baptist also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #21. The yearly cost to attend Cal Baptist is $24,707 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

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%.

Full California Baptist University Philosophy Report

#20

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #20. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 55 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $29,528 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid per year to attend USC.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of Southern California

#21

Biola University

La Mirada, California
#12 in overall quality

Biola University landed the #21 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Biola University is a medium-sized school located in La Mirada, California that handed out 6 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Biola also took the #12 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Biola is $31,859 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

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%.

Read full report on Philosophy at Biola

#22

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California

University of San Francisco ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. University of San Francisco is located in San Francisco, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

USFCA also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #15. The estimated yearly cost for University of San Francisco is $36,424 for california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.

Read more about Philosophy at USFCA

#23

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California

Loyola Marymount University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid list, Loyola Marymount has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola Marymount is $42,861 for California Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University

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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