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2022 Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

8 Ranked Colleges
322 Degrees Awarded
$16,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 5,051 people earned their degree in general architecture, making the major the 111th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general architecture graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $46,998 and had an average of $41,356 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 370 general architecture graduates with average earnings and debt of $50,619 and $58,932 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 322 general architecture graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in general architecture. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general architecture 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 general architecture program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Architecture (Income $0-$30k) in California

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #1 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 97 bachelors’s architecture degrees to qualified students.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $8,392 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Berkeley General Architecture Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #2 spot on the list. Pomona, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s architecture degrees to 88 students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Poly Pomona is $8,596 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Cal Poly Pomona General Architecture Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, this large public school awarded 31 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s architecture students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $0-$30k list, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $12,475 for California Bachelor’s Degree Architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, 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 94%.

Read more about General Architecture at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s architecture degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,553 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UCLA.

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

Read more about General Architecture at UCLA

#5

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s architecture degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,668 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend USC.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Southern California General Architecture Report

#6

Woodbury University

Burbank, California

Woodbury University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Burbank, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s architecture degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

Woodbury also made our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend Woodbury University is $21,148 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Architecture at Woodbury

#7

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California

University of San Francisco ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s architecture degrees in 2019-2020.

USFCA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of San Francisco is $27,690 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 full report on General Architecture at USFCA

#8

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, California

California College of the Arts came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. San Francisco, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s architecture degrees to 26 students in 2019-2020.

California College of the Arts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $28,555 for California Bachelor’s Degree Architecture students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend California College of the Arts.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full California College of the Arts General Architecture Report

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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 Danichou.

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