A Guide to Online Colleges in California

There's something for everyone in the most populous state in the Union: beaches, mountains, deserts, wine country, and giant Sequoias. California is home to two of the nation's largest economies, the birthplace of modern computing, Hollywood, booming entertainment or solitude and quality of life. It's also home to perhaps the largest number of in-state online learning opportunities of anywhere in the nation. And while one of the largest perks of online education is being able to complete your schooling from anywhere, there are a number of reasons why students prefer (and rightfully so) to obtain online degrees from colleges in their own state.

In-state tuition is often applied to public schools offering online programs. Many online programs require some face-to-face time, or more numerous support services at their brick and mortar locations. Intensive study experiences — often on the weekends or in several week long bouts — enable many online students to accelerate their time until graduation. And students looking at online education can drastically expand their educational options if they also look to hybrid degrees (degrees where degrees can be taken partially, or mostly online). Finally, one of the most common stipulations in scholarships is that students be from a certain state or region, often more funds are available to students seeking degrees in-state.

Many of the top public schools in California offer online programs of study at the associates through doctoral levels. UCLA, a top 25 ranked national university according to US News offers 27 programs of study fully online, while UC Berkeley and Stanford offer one each. Meanwhile the California State University system is perhaps the most varied and readily available group of online universities in the state, boarding 74 fully online programs at 9 campus locations. Available across the state, these locations include Channel Islands, Chico, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Fullerton, Northridge, Sacramento, San Marcos, and Stanislaus locations of Cal State. Many CSU campuses are also great buys, offering tuition at between $280 and $500 per unit. The Naval Postgraduate School also offers 13 degrees for Naval officers furthering their training and career. For those looking to obtain an associates degree or certification, or to save funds and transfer into a four year program, a number of community colleges also offer online programs.

A wealth of online offerings are also available from the private universities in California. Offering degrees ranging from masters in law (L.L.M.) to degrees in divinity. Leading the pack in terms of private offerings are National University, Golden Gate University (San Francisco), and Brandman University, offering a total of over 200 fully online degrees. The University of Southern California's USC Online is the most prestigious private online university in the state, offering over 80 fully online programs, 69 at the masters level, one doctoral level program, and the rest graduate certifications.

Featured Online Schools

Compared with the rest of the nation, California is in the middle of the pack in terms of higher education tuition costs. In 2014-2015, the average annual tuition for a full time undergraduate student in California was $13,492 or within $300 of the national average. For the same year, Harvey Mudd College represented the most expensive of educational institutions. Yet at $48,315 was typically priced compared to other top ranked private colleges. For a state boasting quite a number of top — internationally — ranked universities, tuition costs are relatively low. And for students looking to pay in-state tuition at one of the many top ranked public schools in the state, tuition is quite reasonable. UCLA, a top 25 ranked national university, came in at under the state average for tuition and was largely representative of other in-state offerings.

Los Angeles has perhaps the widest array of online offerings of any city in the country, helping to serve the hundreds of thousands of higher education students located in Los Angeles and the near continuous urban zone surrounding the city and county. For students hoping to achieve diplomas, associates, or community college degrees, all LACCD colleges (the largest community college system in the nation) offer online offerings that can be complemented by the support services of nearby brick and mortar locations. Top ranking online programs in the LA area include UCLA's #1 nationally ranked online graduate program in engineering (the University of Southern California ranked second in the category). As well as Pepperdine's top ranked online MBA, Loyola Marymount University's top ranked online graduate programs in education, and the University of Southern California's top ranked online computer information technology program.

In terms of online education and employment opportunities, Los Angeles is one of the highest opportunity locations we've surveyed in our guide. Opportunity comes at a cost, with LA costing 144% of the national average. This is comparable, however, with many California metros. And while tech and tourism provide tons of opportunities in the Bay Area, LA is one of the very biggest economies in the nation. Whatever field you're trying to enter, there are probably a number of options in the nation's second largest metro.

Four San Diego-based traditional universities offer online degrees, as well as three locations of the San Diego Community College District (and their school of continuing education). Notable online offerings include five LLM (Legal Masters of Law) offerings from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law as well as varied graduate level offerings at Point Loma Nazarene University, the University of San Diego, and San Diego State University. Schools based in San Diego known for top ranked online programs include the University of San Diego (known for graduate-level non-MBA business offerings) And San Diego State University (known for graduate-level education offerings).

For online students trying to start (or build on) a life in their locale of study, San Diego is an impressively livable city boasting a mild climate, miles of beaches, nightlife and a bustling economy.

The Bay Area boasts a number of online programs as well as the nation's largest high tech job market. A masters in information and data science is a great way to land a job in Silicon Valley, and may be taken entirely online through UC Berkeley. A masters of science in statistics is also available through Stanford University fully online. Meanwhile, Golden Gate University in San Francisco boasts one of the largest arrays of online degrees available in California (47 in total), including nationally ranked online bachelors programs according to US News. Other online degree providers in the Bay Area include Foothill College (Los Altos Hills), the California Institute of Integral Studies (San Francisco), the University of California (San Francisco), Palo Alto University (Palo Alto), and Saybrook University (San Francisco).

The Best Online Colleges in California

Monitoring the accreditation of a university you are interested in attending is incredibly important. Accreditation ensures your credits can transfer that you can receive Federal financial aid, and most importantly that certain standards of educational quality are during your schooling. The highest accreditation standard for most programs in the United States is provided by regional accreditation agencies. The regional accrediting agency for California is the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, one of six regional accrediting agencies responsible for accrediting schools in California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the northern Marianas Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Pacific Rim, East Asia, and Tokyo.

Making sure that a University you're hoping to attend is regionally accredited — or accredited by a real and respected accrediting agency — is one of the most important choices you can make in ensuring the quality of your education.

Three Steps for Securing Financial Aid

• Submit your FAFSA.

• Check to see if additional forms are needed at your university of choice.

• Search and apply for private scholarships.

Through the previous three steps most students find themselves offered some sort of federal grant, work study, private grant, scholarship, or stipend.

Great California Higher Education Resources

• California-Specific Scholarships are available for a variety of demographics, skill sets, and even just for living in the right town. Here's the largest database of California specific scholarships.

• Scholarshare is California's 529 college savings plan, enabling parents and grandparents to recieve tax benefits from beginning to plan for college early.

• The California Student Aid Commission is in charge of overseeing a wide range of grants and initiatives for increasing accessibility to California schools. check out their list of financial aid programs here.

• Eligibility in the Local Context is a program offering many local Californians access to the UC system. Check out their guidelines for determining if you qualify as a local here.

• There are 113 community colleges in California. Check out the official site of all public community colleges in the state here.

• Interested in attending a school in the California State University System? Check out the system's site here.

• Interested in attending a location of the California University System? Start by checking out their site here.

• The California Career Center is a resource provided by the California Career Network that provides career planning, education planning, and money management advice for students from middle school through grad school.

• The California Community Colleges Map allows students to explore the location of all community colleges in the state, finding those closest to where they are or want to be.

• The California Community College Database is provided by the Chancellor's Office of the CCC, and provides a way to search for community colleges in California by a number of criteria.

• The California Virtual Campus Course Catalog provides a database of thousands of online courses provided through public schools in California.

• A Degree With a Guarantee outlines the ways in which community college students in California can receive guaranteed admittance to the California State University system.

• Career Cafe is a virtual career services forum for students of Californian Community Colleges.

• Free and easy to understand data on entry requirements for every public school in California

• Assist is a network of student submitted reports on what credits transfer from one institution of higher education to another.

• Admissions requirements and regulations for Universities in California.

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