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Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

23 Colleges
$14,804 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$52,728 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration Master's Degree School for You

Public Administration is the #17 most popular major in California with 1,533 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for public admin students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the public admin master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for public administration students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration at San Jose State University Report

Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the # 2 spot on the list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Fresno State are $8,087 a year.

Read More…

Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 3 spot on the list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.

CSUN graduate students pay an average of $8,477 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Northridge Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Sacramento is a great value for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Sac State are $8,826 a year.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Sacramento Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Bakersfield is a great value for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUB are $9,013 per year.

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California State University - Long Beach landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.

Read More…

#7

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SFSU are $8,738 per year.

Full Public Administration at San Francisco State University Report

California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the small city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUDH are $8,494 per year.

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California State University - East Bay ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $8,429 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - East Bay

California State University - Fullerton ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Cal State Fullerton graduate students pay an average of $8,410 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Fullerton

Best Value Public Administration Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 287
Oregon 62
Nevada 78
Hawaii 41
Alaska 34

Public Administration is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 33,631
Public Policy 3,737
Human Services 1,277
Community Organization & Advocacy 741
Other Public Administration 295

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 23 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 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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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