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2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California

6 Ranked Colleges
135 Degrees Awarded
$19,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master's in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 559,661 liberal arts / sciences and humanities students received their degree, making the major the 3rd most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 / sciences and humanities 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 / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking, we looked at 6 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts / sciences and humanities. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great liberal arts / sciences and humanities 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 / sciences and humanities program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools

The liberal arts / sciences & humanities 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 Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california master’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.

Top 6 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities in California

#1

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 10 degrees to qualified masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at MSMU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at MSMU are $12,612.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at MSMU

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California. Northridge, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students list, CSUN has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Northridge are $17,955, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Northridge

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California list. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at SDSU are $18,658.

Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at SDSU

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California list. This fairly large school is located in Carson, California, and it awarded 12 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUDH not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at CSUDH are $17,884, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at California State University - Dominguez Hills

#5

Dominican University of California

San Rafael, California
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Dominican University of California landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in San Rafael, California, and it awarded 9 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

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

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Dominican University of California

#2 in overall quality

Saint Mary’s College of California ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s in California list. Saint Mary’s College of California is a small school located in Moraga, California that handed out 11 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SMC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 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.

Full SMC Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 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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