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2025 Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

34 Colleges in California
2,905 Bachelor's Degrees
$28,884 Avg Early-Career Salary
History is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #20 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 34 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of history. Combined, these schools handed out 2,905 bachelor's degrees in history to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great History School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of history for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for history students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank History Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More History Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The history 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 the Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools in California.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study History in California

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for history students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in History

1
159 Annual Graduates
$29,749 Median Starting Salary
$24,532 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in history has to look into University of California - Santa Barbara. UCSB is a very large public university located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the history program make about $29,749 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Santa Barbara

2
240 Annual Graduates
$28,116 Median Starting Salary
$20,127 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in history. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

After graduating, history bachelor's recipients generally earn around $28,116 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Los Angeles

3
77 Annual Graduates
$36,876 Median Starting Salary
$47,998 Median Student Debt

University of Southern California is a great decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in history. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California earn $7,992 more than the standard history graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Southern California

4

University of California - Berkeley is a great choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in history. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, history bachelor's recipients usually earn about $28,849 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Berkeley

5

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Davis earn $3,011 more than the standard history graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Davis

6
103 Annual Graduates
$29,824 Median Starting Salary
$6,809 Median Student Debt

UCR is a fairly large public university located in the city of Riverside.

Soon after graduating, history bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $29,824 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Riverside

7
104 Annual Graduates
$33,081 Median Starting Salary
$18,119 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the history program at University of California - Santa Cruz make $4,197 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Santa Cruz

8

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the history program make about $21,713 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - San Diego

9
67 Annual Graduates
$23,480 Median Starting Salary
$20,498 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the history program make about $23,480 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Irvine

10

Sac State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Sacramento.

Bachelor's recipients from the history major at California State University - Sacramento earn $3,712 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from California State University - Sacramento

Best History Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 443
Oregon 185 326
Nevada 129 86
Hawaii 112 65
Alaska 75 41

View All Rankings >

History is one of 0 different types of History programs to choose from.

History Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General History 2,815
Other History 82
Public/Applied History 8

Notes and References

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