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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communications in California (With Aid)

8 Ranked Colleges
1,325 Degrees Awarded
$22,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 11,861 people earned their degree in communications, making the major the 65th most popular in the United States.

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 Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in communications. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communications 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 communications 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

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 Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communications in California (With Aid)

#1

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 517 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCSB also took the #1 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Barbara is $15,884 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students with aid.

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 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communications at University of California - Santa Barbara

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #2 spot on the list. University of California - Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 323 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also took the #2 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Davis is $14,669 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. 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%.

Read full report on Communications at University of California - Davis

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #3 spot on the list. UCSD is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 239 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree communication arts students with aid list, UCSD has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,232 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students with aid per year to attend UCSD.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full UCSD Communications Report

#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 Getting Aid. Costa Mesa, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out bachelors’s communication arts degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UOPX - California, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UOPX - California is $12,664 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students with aid.

Read more about Communications at University of Phoenix - California

#5

The Master's University and Seminary

Santa Clarita, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The Master’s University and Seminary. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Santa Clarita, California, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

The Master’s University also took the #6 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The Master’s University is $28,833 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Communications at The Master’s University and Seminary

#6

University of San Diego

San Diego, California
#4 in overall quality

University of San Diego came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. This medium-sized school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 113 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

USD not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $32,460 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students with aid per year to attend USD.

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 full report on Communications at University of San Diego

#7

Concordia University, Irvine

Irvine, California
#7 in overall quality

Concordia University, Irvine landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. 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 also took the #7 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Concordia University, Irvine is $26,143 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students with aid.

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 did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. Malibu, 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 15 students in 2019-2020.

Pepperdine also took the #5 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Pepperdine University is $36,996 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students with aid.

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

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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