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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $0-$30k) in California

7 Ranked Colleges
135 Degrees Awarded
$19,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

With 559,661 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, liberal arts general studies is the 1st most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, liberal arts general studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 112,019 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,678 and $19,082 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 135 liberal arts general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in liberal arts general studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts general studies programs and cost less that 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 liberal arts general studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important 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 Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 7 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts General Studies (Income $0-$30k) in California

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Dominguez Hills is a fairly large public school situated in Carson, California. It awarded 12 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUDH also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Dominguez Hills are $17,884, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full California State University - Dominguez Hills Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the #2 spot on the list. California State University - Northridge is a large school located in Northridge, California that handed out 19 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUN also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Northridge are $17,955, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full CSUN Liberal Arts General Studies Report

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. SDSU is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 masters’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at SDSU

#4

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Francisco State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. San Francisco State University is located in San Francisco, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 masters’s liberal arts degrees to qualified students.

SFSU also took the #0 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Francisco State University are $17,944, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Liberal Arts General Studies at SFSU

#5

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 10 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

MSMU also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Mount Saint Mary’s University are $12,612.

Read more about Liberal Arts General Studies at MSMU

Saint Mary’s College of California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Moraga, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 11 degrees to qualified masters’s liberal arts students in 2019-2020.

SMC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. 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 General Studies at Saint Mary’s College of California

#7

Dominican University of California

San Rafael, California
#5 in overall quality

Dominican University of California ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in San Rafael, California, and it awarded 9 masters’s liberal arts degrees in 2019-2020.

DUofC also made our “Best Liberal Arts General Studies Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at DUofC are $16,520, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full DUofC Liberal Arts General Studies 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.

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