2023 Best Value Colleges for Interdisciplinary Studies in California (With Aid)

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 9,074 people earned their degree in interdisciplinary studies, making the major the 86th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, interdisciplinary studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $32,077 and had an average of $27,069 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 200 interdisciplinary studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,518 and $23,735 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in interdisciplinary studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent interdisciplinary studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the interdisciplinary studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california interdisciplinary studies students with aid.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Interdisciplinary Studies in California (With Aid)

1

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$32,569 Average Net Price

$65,044 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 27 ’s interdisciplinary studies degrees in 2020-2021.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Southern California is $32,569 for California Interdisciplinary Studies students with aid.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Interdisciplinary Studies at USC

2

National University
La Jolla, California

#3 in overall quality

$20,722 Average Net Price

$58,580 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend National University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California For Those Getting Aid list. National University is located in La Jolla, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 23 ’s interdisciplinary studies degrees to qualified students.

National University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for National University is $20,722 for california interdisciplinary studies students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full National University Interdisciplinary Studies Report

3

Biola University
La Mirada, California

#2 in overall quality

$33,269 Average Net Price

$42,424 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Biola University landed the #3 spot on the list. Biola is a medium-sized school located in La Mirada, California that handed out 8 ’s interdisciplinary studies degrees in 2020-2021.

Biola also made our “Best Interdisciplinary Studies Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $33,269 for California Interdisciplinary Studies students with aid per year to attend Biola.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Biola Interdisciplinary Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Interdisciplinary Studies in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Interdisciplinary Studies (With Aid)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to UTDallas.