2023 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies in the Far Western US Region
13
Ranked Colleges
544
Degrees Awarded
$19,200
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 9,470 people earned their degree in religious studies, making the major the 90th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,289 and had an average of $24,431 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Far Western US region, there were 544 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $25,282 and $18,584 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking analyzed 13 colleges that offered 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region” list to help you make the college decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region religion students.
Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies in the Far Western US Region
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Northridge, California, this large public school handed out 12 degrees to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUN, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Northridge is $8,523 for Far Western US Region Religion students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at CSUN
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the #2 spot on the list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s religion degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.
SFSU also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #11. The estimated yearly cost for San Francisco State University is $14,459 for Far Western US Region Religion students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full SFSU Religious Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s religion degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
Cal State Fullerton also took the #10 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Cal State Fullerton is $8,003 for Far Western US Region 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 undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at Cal State Fullerton
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. UW Seattle is located in Seattle, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.
UW Seattle did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus is $12,017 for far western us region religion students.
The undergrad 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 93%.
Full UW Seattle Religious Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Washington University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region. This fairly large school is located in Bellingham, Washington, and it awarded 2 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
WWU also took the #13 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WWU is $17,070 for far western us region religion students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 Western Washington University Religious Studies Report
University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s religion degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.
UCSB also took the #3 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UCSB is $16,252 for far western us region religion 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 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at UCSB
University of Oregon ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region list. This large school is located in Eugene, Oregon, and it awarded 6 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
UO did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $18,047 for far western us region religion students per year to attend UO.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at UO
University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #8. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 10 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
UC Davis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UC Davis is $15,768 for far western us region religion students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UC Davis Religious Studies Report
California Baptist University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Cal Baptist is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 30 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
Cal Baptist also took the #12 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Cal Baptist is $26,719 for far western us region religion students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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%.
Full California Baptist University Religious Studies Report
University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #10. University of California - Riverside is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UCR also took the #6 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $11,822 for far western us region religion students per year to attend University of California - Riverside.
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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Read more about Religious Studies at UCR
Whitworth University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Whitworth University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Spokane, Washington. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region religion students list, Whitworth has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Whitworth University is $24,492 for far western us region religion students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at Whitworth
Chapman University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Chapman University is a medium-sized school located in Orange, California that handed out 2 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
Chapman also took the #5 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $44,198 for far western us region religion students per year to attend Chapman University.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at Chapman University
With a ranking of #13, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Far Western US Region list. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 8 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for USC is $32,569 for far western us region religion students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate 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 undergraduate students.
Read more about Religious Studies at USC
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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
- *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
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