2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Studies 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 Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Environmental Studies is the 85th most popular major in the country with 9,869 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.
Across California, there were 1,707 environmental studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,462 environmental studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 17 colleges that offer a degree in environmental studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great environmental studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the environmental studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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More Ways to Rank Environmental Studies Schools
The ecosystem studies 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 Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.
Top 17 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Studies in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 311 bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2019-2020.
UC Berkeley also made our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for UC Berkeley is $15,329 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of California - Santa Barbara is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 358 bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees to qualified students.
UCSB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Santa Barbara is $15,884 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Environmental Studies at University of California - Santa Barbara
Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Monterey Bay landed the #3 spot on the list. Seaside, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees to 41 students in 2019-2020.
CSUMB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,212 for california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students per year to attend California State University - Monterey Bay.
The student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. San Diego State University is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 65 bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students list, SDSU has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Diego State University is $14,788 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Environmental Studies at San Diego State University
Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 76 bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students list, UC Davis has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Davis is $14,669 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
California State University - East Bay ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large school located in Hayward, California that handed out 13 bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2019-2020.
Cal State East Bay also took the #13 spot in our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - East Bay is $11,116 for california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students.
Full California State University - East Bay Environmental Studies Report
University of California - San Diego landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school handed out 66 degrees to qualified bachelors’s ecosystem studies students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students list, UCSD has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSD is $14,232 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low 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%.
Read more about Environmental Studies at University of California - San Diego
University of California - Irvine landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school awarded 19 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s ecosystem studies students in 2019-2020.
UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Irvine is $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
San Francisco State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees to 27 students in 2019-2020.
SFSU also took the #15 spot in our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SFSU is $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students.
Read full report on Environmental Studies at San Francisco State University
Humboldt State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Arcata, California, this medium-sized public school handed out 31 degrees to qualified bachelors’s ecosystem studies students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students list, Humboldt State University has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Humboldt State University is $14,692 for california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students.
Read full report on Environmental Studies at Humboldt State University
University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees to 213 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Cruz is $18,186 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of California - Santa Cruz Environmental Studies Report
University of Redlands landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This small school is located in Redlands, California, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Redlands not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Redlands is $27,958 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Environmental Studies at University of Redlands
Santa Clara University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #14. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Santa Clara, California. It awarded 30 bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2019-2020.
SCU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $38,327 for california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students per year to attend Santa Clara University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Environmental Studies at Santa Clara University
University of San Francisco ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 26 bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2019-2020.
USFCA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of San Francisco is $36,424 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Environmental Studies at University of San Francisco
Occidental College ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s ecosystem studies degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.
Oxy also made our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $29,638 for california bachelor’s degree ecosystem studies students per year to attend Oxy.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #17. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 18 degrees to qualified bachelors’s ecosystem studies students in 2019-2020.
USC also made our “Best Environmental Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $29,528 for California Bachelor’s Degree Ecosystem Studies students.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. 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 student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Studies in the Far Western US Region
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Environmental Studies
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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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.
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