2025 Best International Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in international studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #69 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best International Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,128 bachelor's degrees in international studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great International Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Your choice of international studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality international studies program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on international studies students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of international studies students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt international studies students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized international studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for international studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank International Studies Schools

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 International Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study International Studies in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in international studies.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in International Studies

1

University of California - Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA

143 Annual Graduates

$33,553 Median Starting Salary

$19,994 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat University of California - Santa Barbara if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in international studies. UCSB is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the international studies program state that they receive average early career earnings of $33,553.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of California - Santa Barbara

2

University of California - Irvine
Irvine, CA

128 Annual Graduates

$33,388 Median Starting Salary

$17,710 Median Student Debt

University of California - Irvine is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in international studies. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the international studies program report average early career income of $33,388.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of California - Irvine

3

University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

80 Annual Graduates

$46,660 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in international studies. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population.

International Studies bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley receive an earnings boost of about $10,878 over the average income of international studies graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of California - Berkeley

4

University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA

511 Annual Graduates

$45,168 Median Starting Salary

$30,483 Median Student Debt

University of California - San Diego is a good choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in international studies. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.

International Studies bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - San Diego earn a boost of about $9,386 above the typical earnings of international studies majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of California - San Diego

5

University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

52 Annual Graduates

$39,082 Median Starting Salary

UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Those international studies students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Los Angeles receive $3,300 more than the typical international studies grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of California - Los Angeles

6

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

11 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from University of Southern California

7

San Diego State University
San Diego, CA

18 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from San Diego State University

8

Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA

18 Annual Graduates

$36,920 Median Starting Salary

$54,553 Median Student Debt

Pepperdine is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Malibu.

After graduating, international studies bachelor's recipients usually make an average of $36,920 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from Pepperdine University

9

California State University - Monterey Bay
Seaside, CA

11 Annual Graduates

$34,246 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Soon after graduation, international studies bachelor's recipients usually earn around $34,246 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from California State University - Monterey Bay

10

California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA

36 Annual Graduates

$31,589 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, international studies bachelor's recipients generally make around $31,589 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in international studies from California State University - Long Beach

Best International Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best International Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	226	74
Oregon	185	128
Nevada	129	0
Hawaii	112	17
Alaska	75	8

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to International Studies

International Studies is one of 51 different types of Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies programs to choose from.

International Studies Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
International/Globalization Studies	1,128

Majors Similar to International Studies

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Cognitive Science	1,786
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	916
Nutrition Science	876
Human Biology	719
Mathematics & Computer Science	597
Behavioral Science	259
Marine Science	127
Natural Sciences	122
Interdisciplinary Studies	115
Science, Technology & Society	51

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Yerpo. More about our data sources and methodologies.