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Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California

5 Colleges
$55,530 Avg Salary
$25,500 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate School for You

Public Administration & Social Service is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 5,554 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 8th out of all the majors we track in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in California to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top California Schools for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Public & Social Service

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best school in California for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of California - Berkeley

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Southern California is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Southern California Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Golden Gate University - San Francisco. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

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The excellent graduate certificate programs at California State University - Northridge helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in California. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - Northridge Report

Out of the 5 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 5 spot on the list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - Long Beach

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 712
Oregon 423
Nevada 325
Hawaii 138
Alaska 65

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 33,631
Public Administration 13,571
Public Policy 3,737
Human Services 1,277
Community Organization & Advocacy 741
Other Public Administration 295

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

Related Major Annual Graduates
Legal Professions 45,189
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 13,045
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 10,452
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 1,613

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 5 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 University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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