2026 Best Value Applied Linguistics Schools in California
[Applied Linguistics](/majors/foreign-languages-linguistics/linguistics-comparative-literature/applied-linguistics/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find the best return on investment for applied linguistics students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Applied Linguistics Schools in California
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the applied linguistics degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Applied Linguistics Schools
University Of California Santa Cruz tops our 2026 list of the best value applied linguistics schools in California. University Of California Santa Cruz is a very large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $15,035, with out-of-state students paying around $46,923. Applied Linguistics graduates carry a median of $17,491 in student loans. Early-career applied linguistics graduates make about $21,793. That is a strong return on a $17,491 median debt. The acceptance rate is 66%.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
