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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religion/Religious Studies in California

12 Ranked Colleges
223 Degrees Awarded
$16,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor's in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 3,832 people earned their degree in religion/religious studies, making the major the 173rd most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 298 religion/religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 223 religion/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” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered a degree in religion/religious studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent religion/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 religion/religious studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

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

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religion/Religious Studies in California

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California 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.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students list, CSULB has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSULB is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full California State University - Long Beach Religion/Religious Studies Report

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,279 for california bachelor’s degree religion students per year to attend UCLA.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Religion/Religious Studies at UCLA

#10 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. Northridge, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s religion degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUN, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CSUN is $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree religion students.

The low student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%.

Read full report on Religion/Religious Studies at CSUN

#4

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Santa Barbara. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 29 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students list, UCSB has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Santa Barbara is $15,884 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Religion/Religious Studies at UCSB

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #5 spot on the list. University of California - Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also took the #5 spot in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Davis is $14,669 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.

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%.

Read more about Religion/Religious Studies at UC Davis

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s religion degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree religion students list, UC Irvine has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Irvine is $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, 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 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Irvine Religion/Religious Studies Report

#7

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#11 in overall quality

San Diego State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s religion degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SDSU, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,788 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students per year to attend SDSU.

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%.

Read more about Religion/Religious Studies at SDSU

#12 in overall quality

California State University - Fullerton came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This large school is located in Fullerton, California, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

Cal State Fullerton also made our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #12. It costs about $7,991 for california bachelor’s degree religion students per year to attend Cal State Fullerton.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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%.

Read full report on Religion/Religious Studies at Cal State Fullerton

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 6 degrees to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.

UCR also took the #9 spot in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Riverside is $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree religion students.

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 Religion/Religious Studies Report

#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, Vanguard University of Southern California did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Vanguard University of Southern California is a small school located in Costa Mesa, California that handed out 21 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanguard also took the #8 spot in our “Best Religion/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 University of Southern California.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Religion/Religious Studies at Vanguard University of Southern California

#11

Westmont College

Santa Barbara, California
#3 in overall quality

Westmont College landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Westmont is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s religion degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Westmont, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $31,145 for california bachelor’s degree religion students per year to attend Westmont College.

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%.

Read more about Religion/Religious Studies at Westmont

#12

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

University of Southern California ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 4 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $29,528 for California Bachelor’s Degree Religion students per year to attend University of Southern California.

The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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 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.

Read full report on Religion/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

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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