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.
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. The largest university, the University of California, Los Angeles, 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.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
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, though 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.
Though Hollywood has given 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 to choose from, students have countless opportunities to further their education in California.
To learn more about earning your degree in California, check out some of the state’s top programs and career paths.
There are 37 Christian colleges and universities in California. The following list of the 25 best Christian schools in the state consists entirely of colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees and the following three conditions:
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
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.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Find out more about our ranking methodology here.
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
42%
Graduation
89%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1340/29
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Pepperdine University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Student body
3K
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Loma Linda University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
92%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1360/30
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Santa Clara University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
50%
Graduation
83%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1320/29
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Loyola Marymount University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
80%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1280/28
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University of San Diego’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$57K
Acceptance
58%
Graduation
80%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1285/28
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Chapman University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$52K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
71%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/26
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University of San Francisco’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$44K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
71%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/24
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Biola University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
72%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1215/25
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Westmont College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
51%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1060/21
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Pacific Union College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$24K
Acceptance
50%
Graduation
55%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1050/20
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San Diego Christian College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
52%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/20
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La Sierra University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
100%
Graduation
49%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
985/18
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Notre Dame de Namur University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$51K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
73%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1150/25
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Saint Mary's College of California’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
71%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/24
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California Lutheran University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$44K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
59%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1045/19
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Mount St. Mary's University ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
72%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1225/26
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Point Loma Nazarene University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
66%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/23
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Azusa Pacific University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
59%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1100/21
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Concordia University Irvine’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
62%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1100/21
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California Baptist University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
67%
Graduation
67%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1040/20
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Fresno Pacific University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
60%
Graduation
43%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1035/20
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Simpson University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
38%
Graduation
49%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
990/19
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Hope International University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
65%
Graduation
53%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/21
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William Jessup University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
50%
Graduation
63%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
View profile
Vanguard University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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