2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Religious Studies in California
19
Ranked Colleges
66
Degrees Awarded
$35,500
Avg Cost*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California” ranking.
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 California, there were 420 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,978 and $18,684 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 66 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,974 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California” ranking looked at 19 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in religious studies. That schools that top this list have a program in religious studies in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California” 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. 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.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California”.
Top 19 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Religious Studies in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Academy for Jewish Religion - California. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s religion degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at Academy for Jewish Religion - California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Claremont School of Theology. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California. Claremont School of Theology is located in Claremont, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 17 masters’s religion degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Claremont School of Theology Religious Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Institute of Buddhist Studies. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California. This small school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 1 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Religious Studies at Institute of Buddhist Studies
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of the West. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California list. University of the West is a small school located in Rosemead, California that handed out 4 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full UWest Religious Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Claremont Graduate University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California list. Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 more about Religious Studies at Claremont Graduate University
Santa Clara University ranked #6 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California list. Santa Clara University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Santa Clara, California. It awarded 17 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Religious Studies at SCU
Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Los Angeles, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified masters’s religion students in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Mount Saint Mary’s University Religious Studies Report
Stanford University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California ranking, coming in at #8. Stanford is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 4 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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 full report on Religious Studies at Stanford
Loma Linda University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California ranking. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Loma Linda, California. It awarded 1 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Loma Linda University Religious Studies Report
Pepperdine University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California ranking. Pepperdine is a fairly large school located in Malibu, California that handed out 2 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. 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%.
Full Pepperdine University Religious Studies Report
With a ranking of #11, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California list. University of California - Riverside is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 3 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of California - Riverside Religious Studies Report
California State University - Long Beach came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California ranking. CSULB is a public institution located in Long Beach, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at California State University - Long Beach
With a ranking of #13, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California list. UCSB is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 masters’s religion degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. 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%.
Full UCSB Religious Studies Report
University of California - Davis came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California ranking. University of California - Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 masters’s religion degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UC Davis Religious Studies Report
University of California - Los Angeles came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California ranking. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 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 more about Religious Studies at University of California - Los Angeles
California Graduate School of Theology ranked #16 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California list. California Graduate School of Theology is a small school located in Garden-Grove, California that handed out 4 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Religious Studies at California Graduate School of Theology
With a ranking of #16, Bethel Seminary - San Diego did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California list. Located in San Diego, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 0 degrees to qualified masters’s religion students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Bethel Seminary - San Diego Religious Studies Report
La Sierra University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California ranking. La Sierra is located in Riverside, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 masters’s religion degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at La Sierra University
With a ranking of #16, Simpson University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Religion Major in California list. This small school is located in Redding, California, and it awarded 3 masters’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Religious Studies at Simpson U
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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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