Best Christian Colleges in California 2023

Best Christian Colleges in California 2023

By James Barham

Published: Mar 11, 2021
Updated: Mar 13, 2023

For prospective college students looking for schools that align with their Christian faith and demonstrate academic excellence, here are the best Christian colleges and universities in California.

10 Best Christian Colleges in California

Santa Clara University

52%

Pepperdine University

50%

University of San Francisco

50%

Chapman University

47%

Loyola Marymount University

44%

University of San Diego

44%

Biola University

40%

Saint Mary's College of California

32%

Azusa Pacific University

31%

Westmont College

31%

Holy Names University

95%

Azusa Pacific University

94%

Life Pacific University

94%

Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles

90%

Point Loma Nazarene University

84%

Thomas Aquinas College

83%

Providence Christian College

83%

California Lutheran University

82%

Concordia University Irvine

81%

Westmont College

79%

Concordia University Irvine

20 to 1

John Paul the Great Catholic University

19 to 1

California Baptist University

19 to 1

Marymount California University

18 to 1

Providence Christian College

17 to 1

Vanguard University

16 to 1

La Sierra University

16 to 1

Point Loma Nazarene University

15 to 1

Biola University

14 to 1

California Lutheran University

14 to 1

Pepperdine University

$59,702

Chapman University

$58,634

Santa Clara University

$55,860

Loyola Marymount University

$53,526

University of San Francisco

$53,472

University of San Diego

$52,864

Saint Mary's College of California

$51,768

Westmont College

$48,660

California Lutheran University

$46,012

Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles

$45,388

Chapman University

$37,538

Pepperdine University

$37,300

Saint Mary's College of California

$33,357

Pacific Union College

$31,101

University of San Diego

$27,936

University of San Francisco

$27,180

Santa Clara University

$25,170

California Lutheran University

$20,450

Loyola Marymount University

$19,642

Holy Names University

$18,054

Life Pacific University

11%

Providence Christian College

13%

Vanguard University

15%

Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles

16%

William Jessup University

16%

Simpson University

18%

San Diego Christian College

19%

Fresno Pacific University

19%

Hope International University

20%

John Paul the Great Catholic University

20%

Hope International University

40%

Loyola Marymount University

46%

San Diego Christian College

53%

University of San Diego

53%

Pepperdine University

53%

Santa Clara University

54%

Pacific Union College

58%

Chapman University

60%

Biola University

61%

California Baptist University

64%

Holy Names University

7 to 1

San Diego Christian College

9 to 1

Saint Mary's College of California

9 to 1

Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles

10 to 1

Azusa Pacific University

10 to 1

Loyola Marymount University

10 to 1

The Master's University

11 to 1

Westmont College

11 to 1

Thomas Aquinas College

11 to 1

Santa Clara University

11 to 1

Life Pacific University

$18,300

Thomas Aquinas College

$26,000

John Paul the Great Catholic University

$28,000

The Master's University

$28,870

Pacific Union College

$32,103

Providence Christian College

$33,396

Fresno Pacific University

$33,452

La Sierra University

$34,218

San Diego Christian College

$34,310

Hope International University

$35,450

The Master's University

$8,400

Concordia University Irvine

$8,564

Life Pacific University

$9,540

Simpson University

$10,710

San Diego Christian College

$10,890

Point Loma Nazarene University

$11,880

Biola University

$12,006

Vanguard University

$12,276

Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles

$12,912

California Baptist University

$13,590

Colleges and Universities in California

California’s higher education institutes span across the entire state, allowing students to study by the beach, in the forest, in small towns, and in large cities. There are over 30 high quality online programs that would allow you to earn a degree from literally anywhere in California, or the world.

The state’s largest university is the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). UCLA serves nearly 44,000 students and offers a tuition rate around $13,000. This isn’t the only school with a large student body though. California is home to 23 colleges and universities with student populations of over 20,000 students.

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However, more than half of the state’s schools serve smaller student populations, offering plenty of options for students who crave a more intimate campus experience. Additionally, California boasts 50 religiously affiliated schools. Many of these schools have high graduation rates. However, tuition costs can range greatly, from $8,000 at Bethesda University up to $54,000 at Pepperdine University.

Additionally, many of California’s colleges and universities boast influential faculty and alumni, including Neil Armstrong, Jerry Lewis, and Weird Al Yankovic. In addition to famous alumni and professors, California’s schools are also home to some of the country’s top degree programs, including nursing, business, religious studies, education, literature, and law. Many of these schools offer online courses and complete online programs in these same disciplines.

Though Hollywood has given us an inside look into California’s most popular landmarks and attractions, these one-of-a-kind places aren’t the only reason people flock to The Golden State. With hundreds of colleges and universities, as well as community and junior colleges, to choose from, students have countless opportunities to further their education in California.

Many of these opportunities are also accessible through online courses and online colleges. A growing number of online programs in California have received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools, which means online students have a higher level of quality assurance than ever before. It’s also worth noting that students who live in California can still get an in-state discount on their associate degree or bachelor’s degree even when completing online courses or online programs.

To learn more about earning your degree in California, check out some of the state’s top programs and career paths.

What are California’s Colleges & Universities?

California’s Best Overall

The following list of the best Christian schools consists entirely of colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 30 Christian colleges in California. In order to be included in this ranking list of best Christian colleges and universities, a school must self-identify as Christian, be fully accredited, and offer a broad range of bachelor degree programs.

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How do we determine California's best Christian colleges and universities?

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

Best Christian Colleges in California 2022

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California’s Best Christian Colleges in Your Area of Interest

2021 Ranking Archive

Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.