2022 Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California
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 Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Graphic Design is the 105th most popular major in the country with 8,541 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.
Across California, there were 1,366 graphic design graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 469 graphic design graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in graphic design. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent graphic design 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 graphic design program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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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 Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list to help you make the college decision.
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 Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.
Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Graphic Design in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. San Jose State is a large public school situated in San Jose, California. It awarded 21 bachelors’s graphic design degrees in 2019-2020.
San Jose State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State University is $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The 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 Graphic Design at San Jose State University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Fresno is located in Fresno, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 37 bachelors’s graphic design degrees to qualified students.
Fresno State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Fresno State is $5,464 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, 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 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #3 spot on the list. Cal Poly Pomona is located in Pomona, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 89 bachelors’s graphic design degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree graphic design students list, Cal Poly Pomona has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $12,734 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students per year to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Graphic Design at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Sacramento landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s graphic design degrees in 2019-2020.
Sac State also made our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Laguna College of Art and Design landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Laguna Beach, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 25 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s graphic design students in 2019-2020.
LCAD also made our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $35,355 for California Bachelor’s Degree Graphic Design students per year to attend Laguna College of Art and Design.
The low student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.
FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s graphic design degrees to qualified students.
FIDM Los Angeles did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for FIDM Los Angeles is $41,505 for California Bachelor’s Degree Graphic Design students.
Read more about Graphic Design at FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles
Point Loma Nazarene University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in San Diego, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 18 degrees to qualified bachelors’s graphic design students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at PLNU, the school also landed the #11 spot in our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Point Loma Nazarene University is $33,044 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Art Center College of Design did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #8. Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Art Center College of Design also took the #1 spot in our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Art Center College of Design is $47,080 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 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 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Graphic Design at Art Center College of Design
Dominican University of California landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in San Rafael, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 6 degrees to qualified bachelors’s graphic design students in 2019-2020.
DUofC also took the #12 spot in our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend DUofC is $32,978 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Dominican University of California Graphic Design Report
California Institute of the Arts landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This small school is located in Valencia, California, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s graphic design degrees in 2019-2020.
CalArts did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $50,412 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students per year to attend CalArts.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
California College of the Arts came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California College of the Arts is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 43 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at California College of the Arts, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California College of the Arts is $33,876 for California Bachelor’s Degree Graphic Design students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Graphic Design at California College of the Arts
Chapman University landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Graphic Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Orange, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s graphic design degrees to 27 students in 2019-2020.
Chapman not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Chapman University is $41,350 for california bachelor’s degree graphic design students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, 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%.
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- Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Graphic Design
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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.
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