2024 Best General Education Master's Degree Schools in California

Ranked #12 in popularity, general education is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 46 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Education Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,449 master's degrees in general education during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great General Education School for Your Master's Degree

The education master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to general education students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other general education students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for general education to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized general education related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for general education students working on their master's degree.

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 General Education Master's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study General Education in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in general education.

10 Top California Schools for a Master's in Education

1

Stanford University
Stanford, CA

51 Annual Graduates

$64,331 Median Starting Salary

Stanford University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in general education. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Stanford.

Master's recipients from the general education degree program at Stanford University earn $6,169 above the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in general education from Stanford University

2

University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

189 Annual Graduates

$55,034 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Los Angeles is a great choice for students interested in a master's degree in general education. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, education master's recipients generally make around $55,034 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in general education from University of California - Los Angeles

3

Claremont Graduate University
Claremont, CA

29 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in general education has to look into Claremont Graduate University. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a master’s in general education from Claremont Graduate University

4

University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

19 Annual Graduates

University of California - Berkeley is a great choice for students pursuing a master's degree in general education. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley.More information about a master’s in general education from University of California - Berkeley

5

University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA

71 Annual Graduates

$54,702 Median Starting Salary

UCSD is a very large public university located in the city of La Jolla.

After graduation, education master's recipients usually make an average of $54,702 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in general education from University of California - San Diego

6

San Diego State University
San Diego, CA

139 Annual Graduates

SDSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Diego.More information about a master’s in general education from San Diego State University

7

National University
San Diego, CA

1,075 Annual Graduates

$58,901 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of San Diego, National University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Soon after graduating, education master's recipients typically earn about $58,901 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in general education from National University

8

Azusa Pacific University
Azusa, CA

193 Annual Graduates

$57,617 Median Starting Salary

Azusa Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Azusa.

After graduation, education master's recipients typically make around $57,617 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in general education from Azusa Pacific University

9

California State University - Sacramento
Sacramento, CA

143 Annual Graduates

$75,285 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a very large student population.

General Education master's degree recipients from California State University - Sacramento earn a boost of around $17,123 above the average earnings of general education graduates.

More information about a master’s in general education from California State University - Sacramento

10

University of California - Davis
Davis, CA

100 Annual Graduates

$51,591 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the education program earn an average of $51,591 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in general education from University of California - Davis

Best General Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Education Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	183	399
Oregon	158	343
Nevada	105	20
Hawaii	85	0
Alaska	52	26

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Education

One of 14 majors within the Education area of study, General Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Education Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
General Education	5,449

Most Popular Majors Related to Education

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific	2,340
Student Counseling	1,978
Educational Administration	1,700
Special Education	1,393
Teacher Education Subject Specific	592
Curriculum & Instruction	547
Instructional Media Design	413
Teaching English or French	236
Educational Assessment	124
Other Education	116

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO. More about our data sources and methodologies.