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2022 Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

8 Ranked Colleges
322 Degrees Awarded
$17,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in general architecture. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general architecture programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general architecture program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Architecture 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 Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Architecture (Income $30-$48k) in California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 97 degrees to qualified bachelors’s architecture students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $9,130 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Architecture at UC Berkeley

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 31 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $14,680 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo General Architecture Report

#3

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 $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s architecture degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $30-$48k list, UCLA has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $9,254 for California Bachelor’s Degree Architecture students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of California - Los Angeles.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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 more about General Architecture at UCLA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. 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 also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly Pomona is $9,630 for california bachelor’s degree architecture students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona General Architecture Report

#5

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. USC is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 9 bachelors’s architecture degrees in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $16,252 for California Bachelor’s Degree Architecture students whose families make $30-$48k.

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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. 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%.

Read more about General Architecture at USC

#6

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, California

California College of the Arts landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. California College of the Arts is located in San Francisco, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 26 bachelors’s architecture degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at California College of the Arts, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California College of the Arts is $32,503 for California Bachelor’s Degree Architecture students whose families make $30-$48k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.

Read more about General Architecture at California College of the Arts

#7

Woodbury University

Burbank, California

Woodbury University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k 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. It costs about $21,184 for California Bachelor’s Degree Architecture students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Woodbury.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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

#8

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California

University of San Francisco came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Architecture Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. USFCA is located in San Francisco, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 bachelors’s architecture degrees to qualified students.

USFCA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best General Architecture Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $29,186 for California Bachelor’s Degree Architecture students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend USFCA.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of San Francisco 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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