2024 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies in California
9
Ranked Colleges
420
Degrees Awarded
$19,800
Avg Net Price*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Religion Schools in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 9,470 people earned their degree in religious studies, making the major the 90th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,289 and had an average of $24,431 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 420 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,978 and $18,684 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Religion Schools in California” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in religious studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent religious studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the religious studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 Religion Schools in California” 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. 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 Religion Schools in California
The colleges and universities below are the best for california religion students.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies in California
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #1 spot on the list. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 38 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UCSB also took the #2 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSB is $16,252 for California Religion students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.
Full UCSB Religious Studies Report
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 10 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california religion students list, UC Davis has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Davis is $15,768 for California Religion students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UC Davis Religious Studies Report
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the #3 spot on the list. California State University - Northridge is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 12 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california religion students list, CSUN has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,523 for California Religion students per year to attend CSUN.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at California State University - Northridge
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Value Religion Schools in California list. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.
UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Riverside is $11,822 for california religion students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at University of California - Riverside
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Value Religion Schools in California list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s religion degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.
SFSU also took the #9 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,459 for California Religion students per year to attend SFSU.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at SFSU
California State University - Fullerton did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Religion Schools in California ranking, coming in at #6. Cal State Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 10 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
Cal State Fullerton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” list. It costs about $8,003 for California Religion students per year to attend California State University - Fullerton.
The low undergrad 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Cal State Fullerton Religious Studies Report
California Baptist University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in California ranking. Riverside, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s religion degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.
Cal Baptist not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California Baptist University is $26,719 for california religion students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at Cal Baptist
Chapman University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Religion Schools in California ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Orange, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.
Chapman also took the #4 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $44,198 for California Religion students per year to attend Chapman University.
The low undergrad 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Religious Studies at Chapman
University of Southern California came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in California ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s religion degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend USC is $32,569 for california religion students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Religious Studies at USC
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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
- *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
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