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2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

58 Ranked Colleges
5,328 Degrees Awarded
$11,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor's in California

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 46,740 people earned their degree in political science, making the major the 14th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 7,602 political science graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 5,328 political science graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking, we looked at 58 colleges that offer a degree in political science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great political science programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the political science program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Political Science in California

#1

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 58 schools in the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #1 spot on the list. University of California - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 692 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCLA, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Los Angeles is $14,279 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science at University of California - Los Angeles

#24 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. CSULB is a large public school situated in Long Beach, California. It awarded 172 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSULB, the school also landed the #24 spot in our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Long Beach is $9,622 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its 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%.

Read full report on Political Science at California State University - Long Beach

#18 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 70 bachelors’s poly sci degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $21,595 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Out of the 58 schools in the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the #4 spot on the list. Northridge, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s poly sci degrees to 185 students in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend CSUN is $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science at California State University - Northridge

#5

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 58 schools in the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #5 spot on the list. UCSB is a large public school situated in Santa Barbara, California. It awarded 297 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCSB, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,884 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students per year to attend University of California - Santa Barbara.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.5% 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 Political Science at UCSB

#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in La Jolla, California, this large public school awarded 120 degrees to qualified bachelors’s poly sci students in 2019-2020.

UCSD also took the #11 spot in our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - San Diego is $14,232 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Political Science at University of California - San Diego

#4 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 482 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Berkeley is $15,329 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read full report on Political Science at UC Berkeley

California State University - Fresno came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California State University - Fresno is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 67 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $5,464 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full California State University - Fresno Political Science Report

#9

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This large school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 129 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for SFSU is $15,113 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

Read more about Political Science at SFSU

California State University - Chico ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. This fairly large school is located in Chico, California, and it awarded 81 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Chico State is $15,017 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.

Full California State University - Chico Political Science Report

California State University - Fullerton did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #11. California State University - Fullerton is a large school located in Fullerton, California that handed out 126 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fullerton is $7,991 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science at Cal State Fullerton

#14 in overall quality

University of California - Irvine landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. University of California - Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 307 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree poly sci students list, UC Irvine has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students per year to attend UC Irvine.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Political Science at University of California - Irvine

#13

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#23 in overall quality

San Jose State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking, coming in at #13. San Jose State is a large public school situated in San Jose, California. It awarded 98 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also took the #23 spot in our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State is $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Political Science at San Jose State University

California State University - Sacramento landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 174 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $9,979 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science at California State University - Sacramento

#15

California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino, California

California State University - San Bernardino ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. CSUSB is a fairly large public school situated in San Bernardino, California. It awarded 61 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $7,342 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students per year to attend California State University - San Bernardino.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read more about Political Science at California State University - San Bernardino

#12 in overall quality

University of California - Davis came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Located in Davis, California, this large public school handed out 224 degrees to qualified bachelors’s poly sci students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Davis is $14,669 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science at University of California - Davis

California State University - San Marcos ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. CSUSM is a public institution located in San Marcos, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 68 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - San Marcos is $13,399 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.2% 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%.

Full California State University - San Marcos Political Science Report

California State University - Stanislaus came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Turlock, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s poly sci degrees to 20 students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $6,019 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students per year to attend California State University - Stanislaus.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science at Stan State

#19

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#25 in overall quality

San Diego State University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. SDSU is a large public school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 109 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #25 on our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $14,788 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students per year to attend SDSU.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science at San Diego State University

California State University - East Bay came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. Cal State East Bay is a public institution located in Hayward, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 56 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - East Bay is $11,116 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students.

Read full report on Political Science at California State University - East Bay

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school awarded 89 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s poly sci students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Cal Poly Pomona is $12,734 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science at Cal Poly Pomona

California State University - Los Angeles came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. California State University - Los Angeles is a large public school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 95 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Los Angeles is $2,768 for California Bachelor’s Degree Poly Sci students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Political Science at California State University - Los Angeles

#23

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California
#20 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. UCR is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 213 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Political Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UCR is $12,871 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 more about Political Science at UCR

California State University - Channel Islands landed the #24 spot on the 2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California ranking. CSUCI is a medium-sized public school situated in Camarillo, California. It awarded 40 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Channel Islands is $13,558 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Political Science at California State University - Channel Islands

With a ranking of #25, California State University - Dominguez Hills did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Poly Sci Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Dominguez Hills is a fairly large school located in Carson, California that handed out 36 bachelors’s poly sci degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for CSUDH is $4,215 for california bachelor’s degree poly sci students.

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 Political Science Report

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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.

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