2024 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California
82Colleges in California
112,228Liberal Arts Degrees Awarded
$27,456Avg Early-Career Salary
Liberal Arts General Studies is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #1 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.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 82 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for liberal arts general studies students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 112,228 degrees in liberal arts general studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Choosing a Great Liberal Arts General Studies School
The liberal arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies rankings. For our Best Overall Liberal Arts General Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Liberal Arts General Studies Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
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 Liberal Arts General Studies in California
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the liberal arts degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It is difficult to beat Saint Mary's College of California if you want to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. SMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Moraga. A Best Colleges rank of #188 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SMC is a great college overall.
There were about 84 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SMC in the most recent data year. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from Saint Mary's College of California get an earnings boost of approximately $13,969 above the typical income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
San Diego State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in liberal arts general studies. SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 246 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, liberal arts degree recipients generally make an average of $25,662 in the first five years of their career.
Golden West College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in liberal arts general studies. Located in the large suburb of Huntington Beach, Golden West College is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #189 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Golden West College is a great college overall.
There were approximately 4346 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Golden West College in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the liberal arts program make around $22,411 for their early career.
It is difficult to beat Loyola Marymount University if you want to pursue a degree in liberal arts general studies. Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Marymount is a great university overall.
There were roughly 15 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Marymount in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at Loyola Marymount University earn $17,455 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #95 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.
There were roughly 123 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the liberal arts general studies program at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo get $11,285 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the large city of San Diego, National University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #196 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means National University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 172 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent data year. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from National University get an earnings boost of about $12,939 above the typical income of liberal arts general studies graduates.
Cuesta College is a moderately-sized public college located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo. A Best Colleges rank of #236 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Cuesta College is a great college overall.
There were roughly 2410 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Cuesta College in the most recent year we have data available. Liberal Arts General Studies degree recipients from Cuesta College earn a boost of about $4,510 above the typical income of liberal arts general studies majors.
Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #299 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means CSUN is a great university overall.
There were about 336 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career income of $29,216.
SFSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #204 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SFSU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 115 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year. Those liberal arts general studies students who get their degree from San Francisco State University earn $7,194 more than the typical liberal arts graduate.
Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #249 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Sac State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 194 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, liberal arts degree recipients usually make an average of $23,971 in their early careers.
CSUDH is a large public university located in the city of Carson. This university ranks 98th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 176 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at CSUDH in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the liberal arts program earn around $29,423 in their early career salary.
Located in the large city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 81st out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 1871 liberal arts general studies students who graduated with this degree at Riverside City College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the liberal arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $25,819.
Here are some additional great schools for Liberal Arts General Studies students in the state of California that almost earned our Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools in California award.
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 liberal arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Liberal Arts General Studies rankings. For our Best Overall Liberal Arts General Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
