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2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

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

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking - to help you make that 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.

This year’s “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in communications. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality communications programs that also have a lower cost than 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communications in California

#1

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UCSB is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 517 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree communication arts students list, UCSB has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSB is $15,884 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UCSB Communications Report

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California 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 large school located in Davis, California that handed out 323 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree communication arts students list, UC Davis has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,669 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students per year to attend UC Davis.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of California - Davis Communications Report

#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 list. University of California - San Diego is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 239 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree communication arts students list, UCSD has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCSD is $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts 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%. 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 Communications at UCSD

#4

University of Phoenix - California

Costa Mesa, California
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Phoenix - California landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Costa Mesa, California, this small private for-profit school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

UOPX - California not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Phoenix - California is $12,664 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students.

Full University of Phoenix - California Communications Report

#5

The Master's University and Seminary

Santa Clarita, California
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, The Master’s University and Seminary landed the #5 spot on the list. 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 $28,833 for California Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students per year to attend The Master’s University and Seminary.

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 more about Communications at The Master’s University

#6

Concordia University, Irvine

Irvine, California
#7 in overall quality

Concordia University, Irvine ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Irvine, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s communication arts degrees to 31 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Concordia University, Irvine, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Concordia University, Irvine is $26,143 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Concordia University, Irvine Communications Report

#7

University of San Diego

San Diego, California
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, University of San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in San Diego, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 113 degrees to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

USD also made our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $32,460 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students per year to attend University of San Diego.

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%.

Full USD Communications Report

#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 ranking. Pepperdine is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Malibu, California. It awarded 15 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Pepperdine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Pepperdine is $36,996 for california bachelor’s degree communication arts students.

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%. 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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