Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Cost is resident tuition plus required fees, 2023-24.
Associate Degrees in California
6
Meet the Ranking Threshold
5
Median Resident Tuition and Fees
$12,920
With a Fully Online Option
3
General Studies Associate Degrees in California
General studies associate degrees in California are a short list with a wide price spread: five programs meet the ranking threshold and one more, World Mission University in Los Angeles, sits below it with 9 graduates. Only one of the five is a community college, Hartnell College in Salinas. The University of Massachusetts Global in Aliso Viejo is the other public program, and National University in San Diego, the University of La Verne and Life Pacific University in San Dimas are private nonprofits.
Hartnell scores 71.4, 37th in the national associate ranking, and price and size, not completion, carry that score: $1,404 a year in resident tuition and required fees against $8,994 for non-residents, 76 degrees a year and a 40% graduation rate. UMass Global is next at 53.3 with the biggest program of the five, 134 degrees, a 43% graduation rate and $12,520, delivered online. National University scores 50.4 on 96 degrees, the same 43% graduation rate and $13,320, also online.
The two smallest programs show the trade-off at this level. The University of La Verne graduates 63% of its students, the highest rate among the ranked five, but awards 13 degrees a year at $49,450, which holds its score to 46. Life Pacific University graduates 40%, matching Hartnell, at $20,462 and 18 degrees, for a score of 34.3. So the cheapest program and the one that graduates the most students are 35 times apart in price.
The 5 Best General Studies Associate Degrees in California
The best general studies associate degrees in California are ranked below by their national score, from the national associate degree ranking. The number on each card is the program's place in California. Each needed at least 10 graduates in the latest year to be ranked.
1
Hartnell College
California
71.4- Public
- College graduation rate
- 40%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $1,404 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 76
About the Program
Salinas, California is home to Hartnell College, a public community college of 11,273 students. Some 76 associate's degrees were conferred in the last year on record, a bigger output than 50% of the programs ranked alongside it. Across the whole college, 40% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 65% of the institutions behind this list. Residents pay $1,404 a year in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay $8,994. On price it does best, reaching the 99th percentile.
2
University of Massachusetts Global
California
53.3- Public
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 43%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $12,520 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 134
About the Program
Aliso Viejo, California is home to University of Massachusetts Global, a public university of 8,996 students. It conferred 134 associate's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 67% of the associate's programs ranked at this level. Across the whole college, 43% of students finish, which is a higher rate than 74% of the institutions behind this list. Tuition and fees are $12,520 a year for every student, residents and nonresidents alike. Nothing in the degree requires attending in person, since it is offered fully online. Its strongest mark is the graduation rate of its college, at the 74th percentile.
3
National University
California
50.4- Private nonprofit
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 43%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $13,320 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 96
About the Program
Some 22,115 students attend National University, a private nonprofit university in San Diego, California. It conferred 96 associate's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 57% of the associate's programs ranked at this level. Its college-wide graduation rate is 43%, the 74th percentile, because the federal record tracks completion by institution. Every student pays $13,320 a year in tuition and fees, since the institution sets one rate. Nothing in the degree requires attending in person, since it is offered fully online. What lifts it most is the graduation rate of its college, where it reaches the 74th percentile.
4
University of La Verne
California
46.0- Private nonprofit
- College graduation rate
- 63%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $49,450 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 13
About the Program
Based in La Verne, California, University of La Verne is a private nonprofit university with 5,021 students on its rolls. The program's last federal report shows 13 associate's degrees conferred, so it is larger than 7 in every 100 programs measured here. A 63% graduation rate puts the college at the 98th percentile, though that figure counts every student who started there and not this degree alone. Residents and nonresidents are both charged $49,450 a year in tuition and fees. Getting in is not automatic, because 71% of applicants are admitted. On the graduation rate of its college it does best, reaching the 98th percentile.
5
Life Pacific University
California
34.3- Private nonprofit
- Fully Online Option
- College graduation rate
- 40%
- In-state tuition and fees
- $20,462 a year
- Degrees awarded, latest year
- 18
About the Program
San Dimas, California is home to Life Pacific University, a private nonprofit university of 621 students. It conferred 18 associate's degrees in the latest reported year, which is more than 13% of the associate's programs ranked at this level. Of the students who start at Life Pacific University, 40% graduate, and that beats 65 in every 100 institutions on this measure. Residents and nonresidents are both charged $20,462 a year in tuition and fees. Because the full degree is offered online, it is open to students well outside the region. Nearly everyone who applies gets in, since 96% of applicants are admitted. What lifts it most is the graduation rate of its college, where it reaches the 65th percentile.
Other General Studies Associate Degrees in California
The other general studies associate degrees in California awarded fewer than 10 degrees in the latest year or did not report a figure the ranking uses, so they are listed here without a score. That says something about size and nothing on its own about quality.
| College | Degrees Awarded | Graduation Rate | Tuition and Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Mission University, Los Angeles | 9 | 100% | $6,920 |
Source: IPEDS, as of September 29, 2026. Graduation rate is the college's, for first-time, full-time students.
How Much Does a General Studies Associate Degree Cost in California?
A general studies associate degree in California costs a median of $12,920 a year in resident tuition and required fees for 2023-24 across the six programs, and the median hides more than it shows. Hartnell College charges $1,404, World Mission University $6,920, UMass Global $12,520, National University $13,320, Life Pacific University $20,462 and the University of La Verne $49,450. The one community college on the list costs about a tenth of the median, and the four private nonprofits run from five to 35 times Hartnell's price. Hartnell is also the only program where residency changes the bill, since non-residents pay $8,994 there.
The state aid built for this level is the California College Promise Grant, which waives the $46 per unit enrollment fee at a community college for eligible California residents. You're considered for it when you file the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application, with no separate form. Its limit is the kind of college: of the six programs here, only Hartnell charges the enrollment fee the grant waives, so at UMass Global, National, Life Pacific, La Verne or World Mission the listed tuition and fees stand until federal aid is applied.
Will a General Studies Associate Degree Transfer in California?
Yes, a general studies associate degree transfers in California with guaranteed junior admission to a Cal State campus, but only when it's built as an Associate Degree for Transfer, the Degree with a Guarantee. Education Code Section 66746 requires the degree to include 60 CSU-transferable semester units, and Section 66747 requires CSU to admit you with junior status and let you finish the bachelor's with 60 more semester units. The same degree can also lead to a saved spot at a UC, an HBCU or one of about three dozen independent nonprofit universities.
The general education inside that degree changed in fall 2025. Cal-GETC is now the single lower-division pattern community college students use for both CSU and UC, 11 courses totaling 34 semester or 45 quarter units, and it took effect with the 2025-26 academic year. At Hartnell, ask whether the general studies degree is an ADT or a local degree, because the guarantee attaches to the ADT.
The catch at this level is that the ADT is a community college degree, and five of the six programs aren't at one. The associate degrees at UMass Global, National, Life Pacific, La Verne and World Mission carry no state guarantee, so ask each how CSU or UC campuses have read its units and whether its general education lines up with Cal-GETC.
What Do Jobs With a General Studies Associate Degree Pay in California?
Jobs open to a general studies associate degree in California pay the state medians below, from the May 2025 federal wage survey, with the national median beside each for comparison. Each row links to the salary guide for that job.
How to Choose a General Studies Associate Degree Program in California
To choose a general studies associate degree program in California, decide whether you're headed to a CSU or UC afterward, because that makes Hartnell's $1,404 degree the natural start, provided it's built as an Associate Degree for Transfer, the degree that guarantees admission as a junior to a Cal State campus. The trade-off in the data is completion against price: La Verne graduates 63% at $49,450, Hartnell and Life Pacific graduate 40% at $1,404 and $20,462, and the two online programs, UMass Global and National, graduate 43% at $12,520 and $13,320.
If you need to study from home, those two plus Life Pacific are your three online options, and none of them is a community college, so ask each how its units are read by the universities you might transfer to. If you plan to continue to a bachelor's, check three things at any of these colleges: whether the associate is an ADT, how many of its courses count toward the Cal-GETC general education pattern, and what the college's own graduates have done next, since programs awarding 13 to 18 degrees a year can usually tell you.
If you plan to finish a bachelor's in the state, the general studies bachelor's degrees in California have their own page.