Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Most Popular Public Policy Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Most Popular Public Policy Schools in California

16 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 Most Popular Public Policy Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in California to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Public Policy program at each school on the list.

Check out the public policy programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

Our 2023 rankings named University of Southern California the most popular school in California for public policy students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Public Policy Schools in California list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

Read More…

Out of the 16 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the # 3 spot on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Los Angeles

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - San Diego is a great place for public policy students. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

#5

Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

The excellent programs at Pepperdine University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public policy schools in California. Located in the large suburb of Malibu, Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Public Policy at Pepperdine University Report

#6

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, CA

California Lutheran University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Public Policy Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Thousand Oaks, CLU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Public Policy at California Lutheran University

#7

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular public policy programs. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Public Policy at Stanford University Report

University of California - Riverside landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular public policy programs. UCR is a very large public school located in the large city of Riverside.

Read More…

With a ranking of #9, University of California - Irvine did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public policy students. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.

Read More…

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Public Policy Schools in California list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Full Public Policy at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

Best Public Policy Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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

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 16 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.