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Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

36 Colleges
$10,848 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$50,986 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service 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 Value Public & Social Service Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 36 schools in California to see which programs offered the best value experiences for public administration and social service 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.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California

Check out the public administration and social service programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools

$7,852 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a degree in California. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in California list.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at San Jose State University

$6,653 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public college with a very large student population.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$7,218 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Monterey Bay. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUMB are $7,218 per year.

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

$6,846 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California list. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.

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

$7,644 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 36 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Stanislaus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Stan State is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Turlock.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Stan State are $7,644 per year.

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

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for public administration and social service students. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,226 per year.

UC Berkeley also made our Best Public & Social Service Schools in California list, coming in at #3.

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

$6,995 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - East Bay is a great value for public administration and social service students. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - East Bay

$7,392 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year.

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

$7,043 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Northridge landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration and social service programs. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year.

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

#10

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
$7,304 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, San Francisco State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

SFSU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at San Francisco State University Report

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

Explore all the Best Value 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 25 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 University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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