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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology (Income $0-$30k) in California

11 Ranked Colleges
525 Degrees Awarded
$12,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Ecology 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. 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 Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology is the 103rd most popular major in the country with 7,312 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,807 and had an average of $31,265 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 760 ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,714 and $26,101 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 525 ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in ecology, evolution and systematics biology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent ecology, evolution and systematics biology 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 ecology, evolution and systematics biology program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 11 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 50 bachelors’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCLA has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCLA is $8,553 for california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Report

#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Irvine is $9,558 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at UC Irvine

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. California State University - Long Beach is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 31 bachelors’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend CSULB is $6,364 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at CSULB

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ecology degrees to 114 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCSD has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSD is $9,280 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at University of California - San Diego

#5

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. UCSB is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 81 bachelors’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCSB has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $10,316 for california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UCSB.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, 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 91%.

Read more about Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at UCSB

University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. UC Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 39 bachelors’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $9,842 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at University of California - Davis

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school awarded 28 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s ecology students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $8,596 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Report

#8

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 160 bachelors’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $10,872 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at University of California - Santa Cruz

#9

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#9 in overall quality

San Jose State University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. San Jose State University is located in San Jose, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s ecology degrees to qualified students.

San Jose State also made our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $10,940 for california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend San Jose State.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full San Jose State Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Report

#10

University of San Diego

San Diego, California
#8 in overall quality

University of San Diego landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This medium-sized school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

USD also took the #8 spot in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for USD is $22,263 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at USD

#11

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California
#10 in overall quality

Mount Saint Mary’s University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Ecology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 2 degrees to qualified bachelors’s ecology students in 2019-2020.

MSMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $27,107 for california bachelor’s degree ecology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Mount Saint Mary’s University.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at Mount Saint Mary’s University

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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.

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