Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Political Science & Government

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

10 Ranked Colleges
97 Degrees Awarded
$32,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Political Science & Government is the 21st most popular major in the country with 48,597 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, political science and government graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,977 and had an average of $22,822 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 7,986 political science and government graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,047 and $19,395 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 97 political science and government graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,544 and $133,402 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in political science and government. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great political science and government 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 and government program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Political Science & Government Schools

The political science school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california doctor’s degree political science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 10 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Political Science & Government (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 18 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Stanford Political Science & Government Report

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 16 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s political science students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347.

Full University of California - Berkeley Political Science & Government Report

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 13 doctorate’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #3 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Political Science & Government at UC Irvine

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #5 spot on the list. UCSD is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 5 doctorate’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree political science students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCSD has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

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

University of California - Davis ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Davis, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s political science degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also took the #5 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Davis are $28,700, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

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

#9 in overall quality

University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s political science degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCR are $28,686, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#8

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#8 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UCSB is located in Santa Barbara, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s political science degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree political science students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCSB has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Santa Barbara are $28,670, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Political Science & Government Report

#9

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California
#10 in overall quality

University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. Santa Cruz, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s political science degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

UC Santa Cruz did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Santa Cruz are $28,952.

Read full report on Political Science & Government at UC Santa Cruz

#11 in overall quality

University of California - Merced ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools for a Doctorate in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Merced is a medium-sized public school situated in Merced, California. It awarded 2 doctorate’s political science degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california doctor’s degree political science students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Merced has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Political Science & Government Doctor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Merced are $43,854, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Political Science & Government at UC Merced

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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 Political and Social Sciences Schools

Find Schools Near You