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Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

5 Colleges
$22,438 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$55,530 Avg Salary

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.

The Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate 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 5 schools in California to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for public administration and social service majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Public & Social Service

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

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,160 per year.

UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of California - Berkeley Report

Out of the 5 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUN are $8,477 per year.

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

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 #3 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate 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 graduate student at CSULB are $8,280 a year.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Golden Gate University - San Francisco. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value 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.

Golden Gate University - San Francisco graduate students pay an average of $19,875 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Golden Gate University - San Francisco Report

The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of Southern California helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at USC are $61,396 a year.

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

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

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools 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.

  • 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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