Large regional rallies were planned at San Francisco Civic Center, Pershing Square in Los Angeles, Balboa Park in San Diego and public plazas in other cities.
Education cuts have been particularly devastating in California, which has been grappling with massive budget shortfalls for the past two years.
In response to a 20 percent reduction in state funding, the University of California and California State University systems have imposed furloughs on faculty and staff, sharply reduced course offerings, turned away thousands of qualified students and raised tuition by more than 30 percent.
"You're paying more and you're getting less for it," said Katelyn Rauch, a senior majoring in political science at California State University, Channel Islands. "Classes are being cut, students aren't able to graduate on time, entire majors are being closed."
California's K-12 schools were preparing to lay off tens of thousands of teachers, pack more students into classrooms and scrap many academic programs because of deteriorating finances.
Many of the demonstrations Thursday were being organized by student groups, faculty associations and employee unions that often have a contentious relationship with the universities.
Associated Press Writer Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco contributed to this report.
