Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

35 Colleges
$10,377 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$48,536 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 35 schools in California to see which master's degree 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 Master’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for public administration and social service majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

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 master’s degree in California. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Jose.

San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Fresno helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in California. Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Fresno State are $8,087 a year.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Monterey Bay. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize suburb of Seaside, CSUMB is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUMB are $8,652 per year.

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

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 Master’s Degree 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

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in California. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UC Berkeley are $14,160 a year.

UC Berkeley not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in California list.

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

California State University - Stanislaus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Stan State is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Turlock.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Stan State are $9,078 a year.

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

California State University - East Bay landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration and social service programs. 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 graduate students at Cal State East Bay are $8,429 per year.

Read More…

California State University - Sacramento came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public school with a very large student population.

Sac State graduate students pay an average of $8,826 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

California State University - Northridge came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public college with a fairly large student population.

CSUN graduate students pay an average of $8,477 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

#10

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

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 working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SFSU are $8,738 a 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

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