2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Science, Technology & Society in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 1,072 people earned their degree in science, technology and society, making the major the 225th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, science, technology and society graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,000 and had an average of $27,321 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 60 science, technology and society graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,900 and $12,000 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 59 science, technology and society graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in science, technology and society. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent science, technology and society programs, but they also 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 science, technology and society program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Science, Technology & Society Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree science, tech & society students.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Science, Technology & Society in California

#1

University of California - Davis

Davis, California

#2 in overall quality

$14,669 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s science, tech and society degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Science, Technology & Society Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree science, tech & society students per year to attend University of California - Davis.

The low student loan default rate of 1.9% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at University of California - Davis

#2

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona, California

#3 in overall quality

$12,734 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #2 spot on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is a large public school situated in Pomona, California. It awarded 2 bachelors’s science, tech and society degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal Poly Pomona not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Science, Technology & Society Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Poly Pomona is $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree science, tech & society students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at Cal Poly Pomona

#3

Stanford University

Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$11,496 Average Net Price

$55,964 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s science, tech and society degrees to 44 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Science, Technology & Society Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,496 for california bachelor’s degree science, tech & society students per year to attend Stanford University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at Stanford

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Science, Technology & Society in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Science, Technology & Society

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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