2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 365,980 liberal arts students received their degree, making the major the 2nd most popular in the country.

Across California, there were 94,556 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 42 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The liberal studies 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 “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California.

Top 2 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in California

#1

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

#2 in overall quality

$18,658 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #1 spot on the list. San Diego State University is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 masters’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree liberal studies students list, SDSU has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full San Diego State University Liberal Arts Report

#2

Saint Mary's College of California

Moraga, California

#1 in overall quality

$33,509 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Saint Mary’s College of California. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Master’s in California. Saint Mary’s College of California is located in Moraga, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 masters’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SMC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SMC are $33,509, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts

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.

Featured Liberal Arts Schools

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