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2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

23 Ranked Colleges
1,071 Degrees Awarded
$21,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor's in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Journalism is the 62nd most popular major in the country with 14,528 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,042 and had an average of $24,628 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,662 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,881 and $22,408 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,071 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 23 colleges that offer a degree in journalism. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality journalism 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 journalism program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Journalism 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 Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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 Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

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

Top 23 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Journalism in California

Out of the 23 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, this large public school awarded 74 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is $21,595 for california bachelor’s degree journalism 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Journalism at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

#13 in overall quality

Out of the 23 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #2 spot on the list. Fresno State is a public institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 113 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State also took the #13 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $5,464 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Journalism at California State University - Fresno

Out of the 23 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the #3 spot on the list. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 101 students in 2019-2020.

CSULB also took the #11 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CSULB is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Journalism at CSULB

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Chico. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Chico, California, this fairly large public school handed out 68 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Chico State also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #10. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Chico is $15,017 for california bachelor’s degree journalism students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 Journalism at Chico State

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Northridge is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 134 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUN did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $8,414 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend CSUN.

The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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 Journalism at CSUN

#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in San Francisco, California, this large public school handed out 54 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

SFSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend SFSU is $15,113 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Read more about Journalism at San Francisco State University

#7

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

San Jose State University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. San Jose State University is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 27 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at San Jose State, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend San Jose State University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%.

Full San Jose State University Journalism Report

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

San Diego State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 133 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $14,788 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend SDSU.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full SDSU Journalism Report

University of California - Irvine ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 36 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Irvine is $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Journalism at University of California - Irvine

California State University - Sacramento came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California State University - Sacramento is a public institution located in Sacramento, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 39 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Sac State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Sacramento is $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree journalism students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Sacramento Journalism Report

With a ranking of #11, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Carson, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

CSUDH also took the #20 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills is $4,215 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CSUDH Journalism Report

#13

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California

Humboldt State University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Humboldt State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Arcata, California. It awarded 37 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Humboldt State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Humboldt State University is $14,692 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

Read full report on Journalism at Humboldt State University

#14

Point Loma Nazarene University

San Diego, California

Point Loma Nazarene University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in San Diego, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 13 degrees to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

PLNU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend PLNU is $33,044 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Journalism at Point Loma Nazarene University

#15

California Baptist University

Riverside, California
#16 in overall quality

California Baptist University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California Baptist University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 12 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Baptist also made our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #16. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Baptist is $24,707 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 Journalism at Cal Baptist

#16

Pacific Union College

Angwin, California
#21 in overall quality

Pacific Union College landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This small school is located in Angwin, California, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

PUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #21 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for PUC is $21,835 for california bachelor’s degree journalism students.

Read more about Journalism at Pacific Union College

#17

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California
#23 in overall quality

Academy of Art University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Academy of Art University is a medium-sized private for-profit school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 4 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Academy of Art University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #23 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $34,145 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Academy of Art University.

Full Academy of Art University Journalism Report

#18

Biola University

La Mirada, California

Biola University landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Biola is a medium-sized school located in La Mirada, California that handed out 27 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Biola did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $31,859 for california bachelor’s degree journalism students per year to attend Biola.

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 Journalism at Biola University

#19

University of La Verne

La Verne, California
#18 in overall quality

University of La Verne came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in La Verne, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

ULV did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #18 on our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $25,780 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend ULV.

The low student loan default rate of 3.2% 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 Journalism at University of La Verne

#20

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California
#3 in overall quality

Loyola Marymount University landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Loyola Marymount is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 7 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Marymount also took the #3 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $42,861 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Loyola Marymount.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Journalism at Loyola Marymount

#21

Chapman University

Orange, California

Chapman University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #21. Chapman is a medium-sized school located in Orange, California that handed out 33 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree journalism students list, Chapman has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $41,350 for California Bachelor’s Degree Journalism students per year to attend Chapman University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, 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.

Read full report on Journalism at Chapman

#22

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

With a ranking of #22, Pepperdine University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Malibu, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s journalism degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree journalism students list, Pepperdine has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Pepperdine University is $36,996 for california bachelor’s degree journalism 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Journalism at Pepperdine University

#23

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 78 bachelors’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Journalism Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Southern California is $29,528 for california bachelor’s degree journalism students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%.

Full USC Journalism 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 Jfurrer.

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