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

8 Ranked Colleges
1,325 Degrees Awarded
$17,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Communications is the 65th most popular major in the country with 11,861 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 1,417 communications graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,325 communications graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in communications. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great communications programs and 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 communications program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Communications Schools

The communication arts school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

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

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

#1

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school handed out 517 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

UCSB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCSB is $10,316 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Communications at UCSB

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Davis, California, this large public school handed out 323 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Davis is $9,842 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, 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 93%.

Read more about Communications at UC Davis

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - San Diego. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of California - San Diego is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 239 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSD also took the #3 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - San Diego is $9,280 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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 more about Communications at UCSD

#4

University of Phoenix - California

Costa Mesa, California
#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Phoenix - California. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Phoenix - California is a small private for-profit school situated in Costa Mesa, California. It awarded 1 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UOPX - California also took the #8 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Phoenix - California is $12,680 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Communications at UOPX - California

#5

University of San Diego

San Diego, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of San Diego. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. San Diego, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s communication arts degrees to 113 students in 2019-2020.

USD also made our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for USD is $22,263 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts 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%.

Read more about Communications at USD

#6

The Master's University and Seminary

Santa Clarita, California
#6 in overall quality

The Master’s University and Seminary came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. The Master’s University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Santa Clarita, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at The Master’s University, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $22,889 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend The Master’s University.

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%.

Read more about Communications at The Master’s University

#7

Concordia University, Irvine

Irvine, California
#7 in overall quality

Concordia University, Irvine did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Concordia University, Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 31 bachelors’s communication arts degrees to qualified students.

Concordia University, Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Concordia University, Irvine is $21,837 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.

Read full report on Communications at Concordia University, Irvine

#8

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California
#5 in overall quality

Pepperdine University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Pepperdine is located in Malibu, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s communication arts degrees to qualified students.

Pepperdine also made our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Pepperdine University is $31,185 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 Pepperdine University Communications 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.

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