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2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

15 Ranked Colleges
301 Degrees Awarded
$16,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

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 Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Religious Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 9,704 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,163 and had an average of $28,712 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 406 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,300 and $41,089 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 301 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 15 colleges that offered a degree in religious studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent religious studies 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 religious studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Religious Studies Schools

The religion 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 Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid.

Top 15 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religious Studies in California (With Aid)

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the #1 spot on the list. California State University - Long Beach is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 7 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSULB, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Long Beach is $9,622 for california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full CSULB Religious Studies Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Northridge, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s religion degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

CSUN not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CSUN is $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Religious Studies at CSUN

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 16 bachelors’s religion degrees to qualified students.

UCLA also made our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $14,279 for california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid per year to attend UCLA.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UCLA Religious Studies Report

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #4 spot on the list. Cal State Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal State Fullerton, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fullerton is $7,991 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, 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.

Full California State University - Fullerton Religious Studies Report

#7 in overall quality

Out of the 15 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #5 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Irvine is $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Religious Studies at University of California - Irvine

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. University of California - Riverside is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,871 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students with aid per year to attend University of California - Riverside.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Full University of California - Riverside Religious Studies Report

#5 in overall quality

University of California - Davis landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of California - Davis is a large school located in Davis, California that handed out 10 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid list, UC Davis has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Davis is $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. 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%.

Read full report on Religious Studies at UC Davis

#8

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school awarded 29 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.

UCSB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $15,884 for california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid per year to attend UCSB.

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

Read full report on Religious Studies at UCSB

#9

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#12 in overall quality

San Diego State University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. SDSU is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s religion degrees to qualified students.

SDSU also took the #12 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SDSU is $14,788 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Religious Studies at SDSU

#10

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#10 in overall quality

San Francisco State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. SFSU is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 3 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFSU, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SFSU is $15,113 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students with aid.

Read full report on Religious Studies at SFSU

With a ranking of #11, Vanguard University of Southern California did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Costa Mesa, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s religion degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

Vanguard also took the #8 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Vanguard University of Southern California is $20,051 for california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Religious Studies at Vanguard

#12

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#14 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s religion degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz also took the #14 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $18,186 for california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid per year to attend University of California - Santa Cruz.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Religious Studies at University of California - Santa Cruz

#13

Westmont College

Santa Barbara, California

Westmont College landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Westmont College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid list, Westmont has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Westmont College is $31,145 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Westmont College Religious Studies Report

#14

California Baptist University

Riverside, California

California Baptist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #14. Riverside, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s religion degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

Cal Baptist also took the #13 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Baptist University is $24,707 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 Religious Studies at California Baptist University

#15

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

University of Southern California landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. USC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students with aid list, USC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend USC is $29,528 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full USC Religious Studies Report

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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 Sowlos.

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