2025 Best Anthropology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Anthropology is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #59 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 26 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Anthropology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,513 bachelor's degrees in anthropology to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Anthropology School for Your Bachelor's Degree
Your choice of anthropology for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality anthropology program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to anthropology students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of anthropology students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt anthropology students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized anthropology related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for anthropology students working on their bachelor's degree.
More Ways to Rank Anthropology 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 Anthropology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Anthropology in California
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for anthropology students seeking a a bachelor's degree.
10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Anthropology
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in anthropology needs to take a look at University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Bachelor's recipients from the anthropology degree program at University of California - Los Angeles earn $4,720 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - Berkeley is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in anthropology. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the anthropology program state that they receive average early career income of $28,661.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from University of California - Berkeley
University of California - Santa Barbara is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in anthropology. UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
Those anthropology students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Santa Barbara earn $3,840 more than the typical anthropology graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from University of California - Santa Barbara
University of California - Davis is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in anthropology. UC Davis is a very large public university located in the small suburb of Davis.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the anthropology program report average early career wages of $28,059.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from University of California - Davis
Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the anthropology program earn around $28,543 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from University of California - San Diego
UCR is a very large public university located in the large city of Riverside.
Soon after graduation, anthropology bachelor's recipients generally earn about $26,178 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from University of California - Riverside
Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.
Anthropology bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Irvine get an earnings boost of approximately $2,929 over the average income of anthropology majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from University of California - Irvine
Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, anthropology bachelor's recipients usually make about $23,152 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from University of California - Santa Cruz
Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population.
After graduation, anthropology bachelor's recipients usually make around $28,314 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from San Francisco State University
Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the anthropology program state that they receive average early career income of $25,553.
More information about a bachelor’s in anthropology from San Diego State University