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Nearly 30 of California's community colleges offer bachelor's degree programs. Here's our guide with tips, history, research, and student and other expert voices.
A brief history: In 2014, then-Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that allowed community colleges a few years to try out bachelor degrees programs. A 2021 assembly bill extended the programs indefinitely and allowed colleges to offer an additional 30 bachelor’s programs per year.
Why it matters: The application process for the bachelor’s degrees at community colleges, while simpler than UC and CSU applications, still require effort and planning. Some programs can get competitive, as most colleges try to maintain a 25-student cohort size.
Keep reading: For more advice on how to take advantage of these programs, including why you need to apply for financial aid.
In my years reporting on community colleges, I never knew that 29 campuses offer bachelor’s degrees (at the time of writing this).
My goal — as a first-generation Latina student — is to receive a degree at one of the UC schools. But, could my life have been different had I known about these degrees? If I knew there were other opportunities to get a bachelor's degree locally, would I still be a journalist? (I like to think I would.) Along with many others, I felt like I was missing out on what these community colleges provide.
So, I interviewed students and faculty to learn more. This guide contains tips, history, research, and student, faculty, and expert voices.
This guide is for everybody: students, educators, co-workers, and everyone in between.
You never know who might want to start or resume their college journey.
How long have these programs been around?
In 2014, then-Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that allowed community colleges a few years to try out bachelor degrees programs.
I was offered a job transferring bodies at night. And once I started doing that, it was like nothing else.
A state bill passed in 2024 even attempted to make these baccalaureate programs free at community colleges, as an extension of the already existing California Promise Program. (Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it.)
Profile: Santa Monica College’s interaction design degree
The beach town's local community college, Santa Monica College, offers a bachelor of science in interaction design.
Estimated cost: $10,000. Financial aid and scholarships are available, and their website provides a net price calculator.
Application process: A portfolio of three to five projects is required. The application usually opens about a year before the anticipated start date in the fall.
Cohort size: Twenty-five students are accepted into the year’s cohort — out of the 60 to 90 people who apply on average.
Students in this program (which is also known as IX design) learn to collaborate in groups. The hands-on environment fosters open discussions on how to improve user interaction with technology. Think homepages and app interfaces. When you see an aesthetically pleasing website or app, this is the work of interaction designers.
Christian Enriquez, a 2021 IX program alum, created the company Reality Experience Design. He is one of six “reality designers” who creates augmented reality experiences — think the work of filters on social media, where an animation can be added to your photo. (Another good example is those brown dog ears and long tongue added onto a selfie in real time- for the old-school Snapchat users.)
“It provided my calling,” said Enriquez. “When our company creates experiences, it's well thought out. So, there is research involved, which is crucial when it comes to the stuff that we learn in the program. I know that I'm definitely more successful in this area because of the skills that I learned in that program.”
How much do these degrees cost?
California Community Colleges states that a bachelor’s degree costs $10,560. On most of the community college websites, this number is rounded down to $10,000.
The $10,560 number is determined by the sum of 60 units in lower division courses and 60 units in upper divisions. (We're going to explain units in that infobox two paragraphs down from here.) Californians pay $46 a unit for community college courses. This includes those parts of an associate’s degree or general education — or lower divisions. Courses for a bachelor’s degree (upper division courses) cost more: $130 per unit.
Out-of-state students pay more.
The More You Know: What Is A Unit?
Colleges have a price “per unit.” But: What is a unit? Is that different from a course?
A unit, also called a credit, reflects the amount of class time and work that is expected in a course.
Courses will almost always have a number of units attached to them, usually on a scale of one to five. So, a five-unit course may be longer and more intensive.
Course catalogs provided by each college clearly display the unit numbers.
Bottom line: Apply for financial aid.
“Honestly, it's weird. I think this hasn't happened before; community colleges offering bachelor's degrees,” said Alison Parrales, a senior in the interaction design program at Santa Monica College. “Because many people, the reason why they don't do it is because, maybe they don't have the time, don't have the money. And community colleges are for people who are like that, basically.”
Profile: Cypress College’s funeral service degree
Cypress College, located in north Orange County, offers a bachelor’s of science in funeral service. It is one of three community colleges in the state that offers this degree.
Estimated cost: $10,560. Financial aid and scholarships are available.
Application process: The application opens about ten months before the anticipated start date.
Cohort size: There are typically 20 students per cohort, and the program is almost entirely online.
For students who want to work in the funeral service industry — think embalmers, funeral home directors, cemeterians and more — obtaining a bachelor’s degree allows you to have the possibility for upward mobility and higher paying positions within the field.
Kimberly Worl, a student who graduated in 2022, was part of the pilot program with just five other students in her cohort. She was in the funeral service industry for about 15 years before she started her college journey at Cypress.
“I can't imagine what my life would be like if I didn't find [the funeral service program],” said Worl. “I'm so glad that I was able to further my education in exactly that focused coursework for my job.”
She started by “transferring bodies” from where they died to where they needed to go for funeral services. But prior to getting her degree, there was little room for pay raises.
“I was offered a job transferring bodies at night,” said Worl, who now manages administration for two funeral homes in Westminster Memorial Park and Mortuary. “And once I started doing that, it was like nothing else. It was a huge paradigm shift, because it felt everything that happened was meaningless, and the stuff I was doing at night was super fulfilling, and it meant something to someone. So, I asked for full time work with the funeral home and quit my other job, and then did my embalming apprenticeship, and finally went back to school.”
What should I know before applying?
The application process for the bachelor’s degrees at community colleges, while simpler than UC and CSU applications, still require effort and planning. Some programs can get competitive, as most colleges try to maintain a 25-student cohort size.
(A cohort is what the community colleges call the group of students in the bachelor’s program of that year.)
Research finds that many students who pursue these degrees are already within the community college system, as they build off of pre-existing associates degree programs. But these bachelor’s programs are open for everyone!
Look into the program you want to join at least six months to a year before enrolling.
Check if you need to provide a portfolio of work, or if you are missing any prerequisite courses.
Make an appointment with a community college counselor — for new and returning students.
Profile: West L.A. College’s dental hygiene degree
West LA College is one of five community colleges in the state that offers a baccalaureate degree in dental hygiene. The program has existed at the college since 1969 and became a baccalaureate program in 2016.
Estimated cost: $23,040. This price includes the cost of the individual units for each course, textbooks, required license fees, supplies, and more.
Application process: It opens about six months before the program starts. West L.A. College has applications in both the fall and the spring semester, which is rare for these community colleges.
Cohort size: On average, 35 students are accepted while upwards of 200 students apply.
Students in this program learn the ins and outs of oral healthcare by operating the free clinic on campus. Abigail Martinez, a senior in the program, said that the clinical aspect allows students to go through the motions of what a dental hygienist would do at an appointment.
“They start making the same money as people who have been in a field for 30 years, with the same amount of salary,” said Lisa Kamibayashi, the dental hygiene program director and professor at West LA College for 24 years. “You don't have to move up in dental hygiene, each office makes the same, whether you are 30 years a dental hygienist or fresh out of college.”
The other community colleges with this program are Cerritos College, Foothill College, Fresno College, and Taft College.
How do new programs get established?
In order for these programs to exist, a community college must submit an application to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office where strict criteria is expected to be met: curriculum, enrollment projections, unmet workforce needs, and the curriculum and program itself that does not duplicate a CSU or UC program — to name a few.
This process is necessary for every community college that applies for a bachelor’s program, and once the program is approved, it then needs to be accredited.
Cecilia Rios-Aguilar is a UCLA Education Professor, and co-author of a research study about Latino experience and success post community college bachelor degree program.
“[Students] end up having jobs, you know, in the field that they're studying,” she said. “That's part of why these programs are created. They have to have that component, even from the application, from the design, they're very thoughtfully and intentionally designed so that students can take advantage of jobs that are available locally.”
Some opponents of these degrees at community colleges claim that they take students from four-year universities. Rios-Aguilar disavows this claim, and argues that the community colleges help to serve Black and Latino students — who historically have low baccalaureate degree rates.
“But they're not serving the same students,” Rios-Aguilar said. “If we had done a good job as a state of serving students, they may be competing. The evidence tells us we are not serving a large portion of Californians, ones who need a baccalaureate degree to achieve that upward economic and social mobility.”
What I do if I'm interested?
If this guide piqued your interest — for you or someone else — here are some next steps to get a bachelor’s degree at a community college.
Look into the program you are interested in — online or in person. Whether the degree is related to a field of study you are familiar with or not, bachelor programs are available to everybody. Here's a handy list of all the programs.
Take a tour. Even if your degree is mostly remote, or just two years, it will allow you to learn about your college and make in-person connections.
Book an appointment with a counselor at the college you want to attend! Whether in person or online, counselors are there to help you with the enrollment process. They can let you know what general education courses are needed if you are new to college. They will also fill you in on costs and scholarships unique to the college.
Look into financial aid. Even though these degrees are available at a reduced cost compared to universities, it is still a pretty penny. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a great place to start.
Get a copy of our zine
Our newest zine.
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Ross Brenneman
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LAist
)
We have a limited number of copies of this story as a 12-page zine. If you work for a community college, an academic enrichment program, or community space in the L.A. area and would like to provide copies for your constituents, please reach out to Ross Brenneman, senior editor for our education team. Please note that supply is limited.
Notice any issues?
There is a lot of information to cover. And there are a lot of programs, and things can change fast. Anything important we missed? Spot any problems? Get in touch.
