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Best Value Political Science & Government Doctor's Degree Schools in California

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

11 Colleges
$19,388 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$70,516 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Political Science & Government Doctor'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 Value Political Science & Government Doctor'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 11 schools in California to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for political science students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

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

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

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best value school in California for political science and government students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

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

UC Berkeley also took the #3 spot in our Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California rankings.

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

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCLA are $13,036 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCLA also is in the top 20% of our Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California ranking.

Full Political Science & Government at University of California - Los Angeles Report

Out of the 11 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $13,581 per year.

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

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Davis is a great value for political science and government students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a very large student population.

UC Davis graduate students pay an average of $13,608 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

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

UC Irvine graduate students pay an average of $13,356 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCSD are $13,564 a year.

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

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Riverside did quite well on this year’s best value schools for political science and government students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCR are $13,467 a year.

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

University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree political science and government programs. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the city of Santa Cruz.

UC Santa Cruz graduate students pay an average of $13,895 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

Claremont Graduate University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for political science and government students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Claremont Graduate University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Claremont Graduate University are $36,380 per year.

Claremont Graduate University also took the #2 spot in our Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California rankings.

Read More…

University of California - Merced landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree political science and government programs. UC Merced is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Merced.

UC Merced graduate students pay an average of $13,207 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

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

Explore all the Best Value Political Science & Government Schools 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 11 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 UKWiki at English Wikipedia.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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