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Best Political Science & Government Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Political Science & Government Master's Degree Schools in California

19 Colleges
$50,486 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Political Science & Government Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 243 degrees and certificates were awarded to political science and government students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #80 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 Best Political Science & Government 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 19 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Political Science & Government Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Political Science & Government Master's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for political science and government students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

Full Political Science & Government at Stanford University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of California - Berkeley

The excellent master’s degree programs at Claremont Graduate University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best political science and government schools in California. Claremont Graduate University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Political Science & Government at University of California - Irvine Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for political science and government students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

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University of California - San Diego landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree political science and government programs. UCSD is a very large public school located in the city of La Jolla.

Full Political Science & Government at University of California - San Diego Report

University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Political Science & Government Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of California - Santa Barbara

University of California - Davis landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree political science and government programs. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of California - Davis

California State University - Chico did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for political science and government students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Chico, Chico State is a public school with a large student population.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at California State University - Chico

#10

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for political science and government students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at San Francisco State University

Best Political Science & Government Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Political Science & Government Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 27
Oregon 14
Nevada 13
Hawaii 9

One of 12 majors within the area of study, political science and government has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Economics 6,173
International Relations & National Security 5,010
Geography & Cartography 2,315
Sociology 1,907
Anthropology 1,446

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 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 UKWiki at English Wikipedia.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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