2024 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools 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 in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Science, Technology & Society is the 232nd most popular major in the country with 1,095 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, science, technology & society graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $41,177 and had an average of $22,529 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 87 science, technology & society graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in science, technology & society. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent science, technology & society 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 science, technology & society program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Science, Tech & Society Schools in California

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

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society in California

1

University of California - Davis
Davis, California

#2 in overall quality

$15,768 Average Net Price

$46,065 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Davis. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California list. UC Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 ’s science, tech & society degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california science, tech & society students list, UC Davis has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $15,768 for California Science, Tech & Society students.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Davis Science, Technology & Society Report

2

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
Pomona, California

#3 in overall quality

$14,304 Average Net Price

$45,201 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value Science, Tech & Society Schools in California list. Cal Poly Pomona is a large school located in Pomona, California that handed out 5 ’s science, tech & society degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california science, tech & society students list, Cal Poly Pomona has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,304 for California Science, Tech & Society students per year to attend Cal Poly Pomona.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Science, Technology & Society at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

3

Stanford University
Stanford, California

#1 in overall quality

$12,894 Average Net Price

$83,159 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 in California. Stanford University is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 63 ’s science, tech & society degrees to qualified students.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Science, Technology & Society Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford is $12,894 for california science, tech & society students.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad 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%.

Full Stanford University Science, Technology & Society Report

• Best Value Colleges for Science, Technology & Society in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value 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.