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2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

5 Ranked Colleges
338 Degrees Awarded
$19,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor's in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 5,347 people earned their degree in public relations, making the major the 136th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 391 public relations graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 338 public relations graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in public relations. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public relations programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the public relations program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Relations in California

#1

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. San Jose State is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 60 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree pr students per year to attend San Jose State.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Relations at San Jose State

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 46 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend CSULB is $9,622 for California Bachelor’s Degree PR students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Relations at California State University - Long Beach

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Dominguez Hills is a fairly large public school situated in Carson, California. It awarded 70 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUDH not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $4,215 for california bachelor’s degree pr students per year to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full CSUDH Public Relations Report

#4

Chapman University

Orange, California
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Chapman University landed the #4 spot on the list. Chapman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Orange, California. It awarded 62 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.

Chapman also made our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Chapman University is $41,350 for california bachelor’s degree pr students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Relations at Chapman

#5

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 100 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s PR students in 2019-2020.

USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $29,528 for california bachelor’s degree pr students per year to attend USC.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read full report on Public Relations at University of Southern California

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

Featured Communications / Public Relations Schools

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