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Most Popular Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in California

15 Colleges
$57,597 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Policy Master's Degree 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.

The Most Popular Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in California to see which master's degree 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 master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the most popular school for public policy students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

Women make up 56% of the public policy majors at the school.

Full Public Policy at University of California - Berkeley Report

Our 2023 rankings named University of Southern California the most popular school in California for public policy students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

About 48% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 52% are male.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for public policy students working on their master’s degree. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

About 66% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 34% are male.

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 working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 57 students majoring in public policy at UCSD, 37% are male and 63% are female.

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

#5

Pepperdine University

Malibu, CA

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

About 61% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 39% are male.

Read full report on Public Policy at Pepperdine University

#6

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, CA

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

About 60% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 40% are male.

Full Public Policy at California Lutheran University Report

#7

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

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

Women make up 24% of the public policy majors at the school.

Read full report on Public Policy at Stanford University

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

Of the 18 students majoring in public policy at UCR, 22% are male and 78% are female.

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University of California - Irvine landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public policy programs. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the city of Irvine.

About 57% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 43% are male.

Read More…

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public policy programs. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Women make up 75% of the public policy majors at the school.

Read full report on Public Policy at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Best Public Policy Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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 15 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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