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2024 Best Value Marine Science Schools in California

5 Ranked Colleges
110 Degrees Awarded
$16,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Marine Science Schools in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Marine Science Schools in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Marine Science is the 295th most popular major in the country with 334 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, marine science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $26,266 and had an average of $22,416 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 110 marine science graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,607 and $17,832 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Marine Science Schools in California” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in marine science. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality marine science programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the marine science 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.

More Ways to Rank Marine Science Schools

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More Marine Science Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Marine Science Schools in California” list to help you make the college 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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Marine Science Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Marine Science Schools in California.

Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Marine Science in California

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Monterey Bay. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Marine Science Schools in California. California State University - Monterey Bay is a medium-sized public school situated in Seaside, California. It awarded 64 ’s marine science degrees in 2020-2021.

CSUMB also took the #2 spot in our “Best Marine Science Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSUMB is $13,597 for california marine science students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CSUMB Marine Science Report

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Marine Science Schools in California. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 28 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Marine Science Schools in California” list. It costs about $20,677 for California Marine Science students per year to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%.

Read full report on Marine Science at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Davis. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Marine Science Schools in California. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 12 ’s marine science degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Davis also took the #1 spot in our “Best Marine Science Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Davis is $15,768 for california marine science students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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 UC Davis Marine Science Report

4
San Jose State crest
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Marine Science Schools in California. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine science degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california marine science students list, San Jose State has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Marine Science Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State University is $16,542 for California Marine Science students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full San Jose State University Marine Science Report

5
SFSU crest
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Marine Science Schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the #5 spot on the list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s marine science degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.

SFSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Marine Science Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Francisco State University is $14,459 for california marine science students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Marine Science at SFSU

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References

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