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Best Public Policy Schools in California

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2023 Best Public Policy Schools in California

10 Colleges
$52,313 Avg Salary
$22,744 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Policy School for You

Public Policy is the #46 most popular major in California with 546 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 Public Policy Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in California to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Public Policy Schools in California

Check out the public policy programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Public Policy Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best school in California for public policy students. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Berkeley

#2

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

The excellent programs at Loma Linda University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best public policy schools in California. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Loma Linda.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public Policy Schools in California list. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - San Francisco. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Public Policy Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Francisco, UCSF is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - San Francisco

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Southern California is a great place for public policy students. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Public Policy at University of Southern California Report

#6

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, CA

With a ranking of #6, California Lutheran University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public policy students. Located in the city of Thousand Oaks, CLU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Public Policy at California Lutheran University Report

University of California - Irvine ranked #7 on this year’s Best Public Policy Schools in California list. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the city of Irvine.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Irvine

#8

Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

Pepperdine University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public policy students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Public Policy at Pepperdine University

University of California - Riverside did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public policy students. It came in at #9 on the list. UCR is a very large public school located in the large city of Riverside.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Riverside

#10

Mills College

Oakland, CA

Mills College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Policy Schools in California ranking. Mills is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Oakland.

Full Public Policy at Mills College Report

Best Public Policy Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 22
Oregon 47
Nevada 12
Alaska 0

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

Majors Similar to Public Policy

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 33,631
Public Administration 13,571
Human Services 1,277
Community Organization & Advocacy 741
Other Public Administration 295

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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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