Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 49,282 people earned their degree in political science and government, making the major the 20th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, political science and government graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,387 and had an average of $23,175 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Far Western US region, there were 10,438 political science and government graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,274 and $19,921 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking analyzed 83 colleges that offered a degree in political science and government. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality political science and government programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the political science and government program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region” list to help you make the college decision.
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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region list. California State University - Long Beach is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 200 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
It costs about $10,054 for far western us region political science students per year to attend CSULB.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 83 schools in the Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Santa Rosa Junior College landed the #3 spot on the list. Santa Rosa Junior College is located in Santa Rosa, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 ’s political science degrees to qualified students.
It costs about $6,585 for far western us region political science students per year to attend SRJC.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Santa Rosa Junior College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region. Northridge, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s political science degrees to 214 students in 2020-2021.
The yearly cost to attend California State University - Northridge is $8,523 for far western us region political science students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Northridge Political Science & Government Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Fresno State is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 54 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
It costs about $6,230 for far western us region political science students per year to attend California State University - Fresno.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at California State University - Fresno
California State University - Sacramento came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 167 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $11,178 for Far Western US Region Political Science students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
San Francisco State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. SFSU is a public institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 131 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for San Francisco State University is $14,459 for far western us region political science students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at San Francisco State University
University of Nevada - Reno landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. University of Nevada - Reno is a large public school situated in Reno, Nevada. It awarded 110 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The yearly cost to attend UNR is $14,930 for far western us region political science students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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 Political Science & Government at University of Nevada - Reno
California State University - Chico did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #9. This fairly large school is located in Chico, California, and it awarded 91 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The yearly cost to attend Chico State is $16,218 for Far Western US Region Political Science students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at California State University - Chico
San Diego State University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 162 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our far western us region political science students list, SDSU has also earned the #22 rank in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $13,845 for Far Western US Region Political Science students per year to attend San Diego State University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
California State University - San Marcos did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #11. CSUSM is a public institution located in San Marcos, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 85 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for CSUSM is $13,218 for far western us region political science students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at California State University - San Marcos
California State University - Fullerton ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Cal State Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 131 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
It costs about $8,003 for far western us region political science students per year to attend California State University - Fullerton.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Cal State Fullerton
University of Nevada - Las Vegas came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. University of Nevada - Las Vegas is a public institution located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school has a large population, and it awarded 99 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The yearly cost to attend University of Nevada - Las Vegas is $10,993 for Far Western US Region Political Science students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
San Jose State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #14. San Jose State is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 95 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The yearly cost to attend San Jose State University is $16,542 for Far Western US Region Political Science students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Political Science & Government at San Jose State
With a ranking of #15, Washington State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region list. This large school is located in Pullman, Washington, and it awarded 115 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
It costs about $15,300 for Far Western US Region Political Science students per year to attend Wazzu.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Washington State University
California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #16. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 102 degrees to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Los Angeles is $3,302 for Far Western US Region Political Science students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Cal State LA
With a ranking of #17, California State University - San Bernardino did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region list. CSUSB is a public institution located in San Bernardino, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 56 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for CSUSB is $8,107 for Far Western US Region Political Science students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.0% 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%.
Sonoma State University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Sonoma State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Rohnert Park, California. It awarded 41 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for SSU is $17,563 for Far Western US Region Political Science students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%.
Western Washington University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Bellingham, Washington, and it awarded 102 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
It costs about $17,070 for far western us region political science students per year to attend WWU.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Western Washington University
California State University - Channel Islands landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Camarillo, California, and it awarded 47 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Channel Islands is $14,928 for far western us region political science students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
California State University - East Bay ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Hayward, California, this fairly large public school awarded 59 diplomas to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for Cal State East Bay is $13,298 for far western us region political science students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at California State University - East Bay
With a ranking of #22, East Los Angeles College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Monterey Park, California, this large public school handed out 56 degrees to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for East Los Angeles College is $11,028 for far western us region political science students.
Read more about Political Science & Government at East Los Angeles College
Claremont Graduate University landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Claremont Graduate University is a small school located in Claremont, California that handed out 19 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
Claremont Graduate University also took the #13 spot in our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Claremont Graduate University
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, this large public school handed out 96 degrees to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #24 on our “Best Political Science & Government Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. It costs about $20,677 for Far Western US Region Political Science students per year to attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Political Science & Government Report
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Best Value Political Science Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Pomona, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s political science degrees to 93 students in 2020-2021.
The estimated yearly cost for California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $14,304 for far western us region political science students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies