If you pursue a degree in general studies, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #5 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for general studies students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,081 degrees in general studies to qualified students.
The general studies program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Studies rankings. We derive our Best Overall General Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best General Studies Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the general studies degree levels they offer.
National University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in general studies. Located in the large city of San Diego, National University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #196 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means National University is a great university overall.
There were approximately 162 general studies students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent year we have data available.
Brandman University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in general studies. Brandman is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Irvine. This university ranks 51st out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 179 general studies students who graduated with this degree at Brandman in the most recent year we have data available.
The Master's University and Seminary is a good option for students pursuing a degree in general studies. The Master's University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Santa Clarita. A Best Colleges rank of #258 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means The Master's University is a great university overall.
There were about 23 general studies students who graduated with this degree at The Master's University in the most recent data year.
University of La Verne is a great option for students interested in a degree in general studies. Located in the large suburb of La Verne, ULV is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 94th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 28 general studies students who graduated with this degree at ULV in the most recent data year.
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).
college factual
The general studies program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Studies rankings. We derive our Best Overall General Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
