2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’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 Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking.
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.
For this year’s “Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 15 colleges that offer a degree in religious studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great religious studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the religious 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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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”.
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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.
Top 15 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religious Studies in California
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 Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. California State University - Long Beach is located in Long Beach, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s religion degrees to qualified students.
CSULB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Long Beach is $9,622 for california bachelor’s degree religion students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. University of California - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UCLA also made our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $14,279 for california bachelor’s degree religion students.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Religious Studies at University of California - Los Angeles
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school awarded 18 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.
CSUN also made our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #11. The estimated yearly cost for CSUN is $8,414 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.
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%.
Full California State University - Northridge Religious Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. University of California - Santa Barbara is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UCSB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCSB is $15,884 for california bachelor’s degree religion students.
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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Francisco State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. SFSU is a large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 3 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.
SFSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Francisco State University is $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree religion students.
Read more about Religious Studies at San Francisco State University
With a ranking of #6, University of California - Davis did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.
UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,669 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students per year to attend UC Davis.
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 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of California - Irvine ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school handed out 2 degrees to qualified bachelors’s religion students 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. It costs about $14,783 for california bachelor’s degree religion students per year to attend University of California - Irvine.
The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
San Diego State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students list, SDSU has also earned the #12 rank 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.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 ranking of #9, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Fullerton, California, this large public school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.
Cal State Fullerton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fullerton is $7,991 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, 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 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of California - Riverside came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. UCR is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students list, UCR has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree religion students per year to attend University of California - Riverside.
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%. 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
University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this fairly large public school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Santa Cruz is $18,186 for california bachelor’s degree religion 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.
Read more about Religious Studies at University of California - Santa Cruz
Vanguard University of Southern California ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Vanguard is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Costa Mesa, California. It awarded 21 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Vanguard, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $20,051 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students per year to attend Vanguard.
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 University of Southern California
California Baptist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #13. Cal Baptist is a fairly large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 18 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.
Cal Baptist also took the #13 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California Baptist University is $24,707 for california bachelor’s degree religion students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #14, Westmont College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Westmont is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.
Westmont not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Westmont College is $31,145 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.
The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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%.
University of Southern California ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s religion degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.
USC also took the #1 spot 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.
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%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Full University of Southern California Religious Studies Report
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religious Studies in the Far Western US Region
- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religious 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 Sowlos.
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