2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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 Value Public Policy Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for public policy students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California
The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for public policy majors pursuing a .
Top 10 Best Public Policy Schools
Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best value school for public policy students who want to pursue a degree in California. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year.
UC Berkeley also made our Best Public Policy Schools in California list, coming in at #3.
The excellent programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best public policy schools in California. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCLA are $13,258 per year.
UCLA excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools in California list.
The excellent programs at University of California - San Francisco helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best public policy schools in California. Located in the city of San Francisco, UCSF is a public school with a small student population.
Full Public Policy at University of California - San Francisco Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in California list. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Irvine are $13,775 per year.
Full Public Policy at University of California - Irvine Report
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Loma Linda University is a great value for public policy students. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Loma Linda.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Loma Linda University are $36,412 a year.
California Lutheran University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in California list. Located in the city of Thousand Oaks, CLU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
CLU undergraduate students pay an average of $45,982 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
University of California - Riverside did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public policy students. It came in at #7 on the list. UCR is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Riverside.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCR are $13,754 a year.
University of Southern California landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USC are $61,503 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, USC also is in the top 10% of our Best Public Policy Schools in California ranking.
Pepperdine University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. Located in the suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pepperdine are $59,702 a year.
Mills College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California ranking. Mills is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Oakland.
Mills undergraduate students pay an average of $30,950 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Best Value Public Policy Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 22 |
| Oregon | 47 |
| Nevada | 12 |
| Alaska | 0 |
More Public Policy Rankings in California
Public Policy Related Majors for Public Policy
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.
- 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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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