2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Theological & Ministerial Studies 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 Theology Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 15,051 people earned their degree in theological and ministerial studies, making the major the 55th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, theological and ministerial studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,911 and had an average of $41,597 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,174 theological and ministerial studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,914 and $41,541 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 116 theological and ministerial studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Theology Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered a degree in theological and ministerial studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality theological and ministerial studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the theological and ministerial studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Theology Schools for a Doctorate in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Theology Schools for a Doctorate in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Theology Schools for a Doctorate in California.

Top 2 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Theological & Ministerial Studies in California

#1

Fuller Theological Seminary

Pasadena, California

#1 in overall quality

$21,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$63,005 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fuller Theological Seminary. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Theology Schools for a Doctorate in California list. Fuller Theological Seminary is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 69 doctorate’s theology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree theology students list, Fuller has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Fuller Theological Seminary are $21,300.

Read full report on Theological & Ministerial Studies at Fuller

#2

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, California

#2 in overall quality

$23,507 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Theology Schools for a Doctorate in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Santa Clara University landed the #2 spot on the list. Santa Clara University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Santa Clara, California. It awarded 27 doctorate’s theology degrees in 2019-2020.

SCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at SCU are $23,507.

Full Santa Clara University Theological & Ministerial Studies Report

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Theological & Ministerial Studies in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Theological & Ministerial Studies

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 Jonund.

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