2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies in California (With Aid)

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 1,475 people earned their degree in urban studies, making the major the 210th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, urban studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $37,971 and had an average of $24,376 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 294 urban studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,275 and $17,214 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 33 urban studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in urban studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great urban studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the urban studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 2 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies in California (With Aid)

#1

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. USC is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 19 masters’s urban studies degrees in 2019-2020.

USC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Urban Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Southern California Urban Studies Report

#2

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California

#2 in overall quality

$26,710 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$57,318 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of San Francisco. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Master’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 14 masters’s urban studies degrees to qualified students.

USFCA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Urban Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at USFCA are $26,710, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full USFCA Urban Studies Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies (With Aid)

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 Andrew Bossi.

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