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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in California

11 Ranked Colleges
90 Degrees Awarded
$22,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master's in California

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking.

Philosophy is the 81st most popular major in the country with 10,015 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, philosophy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,067 and had an average of $22,199 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,774 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,175 and $17,728 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 90 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in philosophy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great philosophy programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the philosophy 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 Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California” 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 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 Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California.

Top 11 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in California

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California. CSULB is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 masters’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSULB, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Long Beach are $17,784, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Philosophy at California State University - Long Beach

#2

Biola University

La Mirada, California
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Biola University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in La Mirada, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified masters’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

Biola not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Biola University are $11,772, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Philosophy at Biola

#3

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the #3 spot on the list. SFSU is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 18 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFSU, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Francisco State University are $17,944, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full SFSU Philosophy Report

#4

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified masters’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

UCLA also made our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Philosophy at University of California - Los Angeles

#5

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified masters’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

UCSB also made our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Barbara are $28,670, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Santa Barbara

#2 in overall quality

University of California - Davis ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s philosophy degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UC Davis Philosophy Report

#4 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #7. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 4 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Irvine, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456.

Full UC Irvine Philosophy Report

#8

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#9 in overall quality

San Diego State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s philosophy degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

SDSU also made our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at San Diego State University are $18,658.

Full SDSU Philosophy Report

#9

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#11 in overall quality

San Jose State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s philosophy degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree philosophy students list, San Jose State has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at San Jose State University are $18,790.

Read more about Philosophy at San Jose State

#10

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, California
#7 in overall quality

Loyola Marymount University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #10. Loyola Marymount University is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 masters’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

Loyola Marymount also took the #7 spot in our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola Marymount are $19,756.

Read more about Philosophy at Loyola Marymount

#11

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Master’s in California list. This fairly large school is located in Santa Cruz, California, and it awarded 4 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Santa Cruz, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Cruz are $28,952, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Philosophy at UC Santa Cruz

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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