2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geographic Information Science (Income $0-$30k) 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 Geographic Information Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 3,098 people earned their degree in geographic information science, making the major the 357th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 379 geographic information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 92 geographic information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Geographic Information Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in geographic information science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great geographic information science programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the geographic information science 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

The geographic information science 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 Geographic Information Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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.

Best Value Geographic Information Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geographic Information Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geographic Information Science (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

#2 in overall quality

$10,316 Average Net Price

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Geographic Information Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #1 spot on the list. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geographic information science degrees to 79 students in 2019-2020.

UCSB also made our “Best Geographic Information Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend UCSB is $10,316 for California Bachelor’s Degree Geographic Information Science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low 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 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Geographic Information Science at University of California - Santa Barbara

#2

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$14,668 Average Net Price

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Geographic Information Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 13 bachelors’s geographic information science degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Geographic Information Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,668 for California Bachelor’s Degree Geographic Information Science students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Southern California.

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%. 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 more about Geographic Information Science at USC

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geographic Information Science (Income $0-$30k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geographic Information Science (Income $0-$30k)

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 Couleur.

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