2023 Most Focused Colleges for Political Science & Government in California
177
Ranked Colleges
8,530
Degrees Awarded
$39,400
Avg Cost*
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California” 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 California, there were 8,530 political science and government graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,769 and $19,462 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California” ranking, we looked at 177 colleges that offer a degree in political science and government. That schools that top this list have a program in political science and government in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Political Science & Government Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.
Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California”.
Top 25 Most Focused Colleges for Political Science & Government in California
Out of the 177 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Scripps College landed the #1 spot on the list. Scripps College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 29 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Scripps College
Out of the 177 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Claremont McKenna College landed the #2 spot on the list. Claremont McKenna is a small school located in Claremont, California that handed out 38 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Claremont McKenna College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Occidental College. The school came in at #3 for the Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California. Oxy is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 35 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Occidental College Political Science & Government Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pomona College. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California. Located in Claremont, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 28 diplomas to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Pomona College
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pitzer College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California list. Pitzer College is located in Claremont, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 14 ’s political science degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 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 Pitzer College
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 713 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Political Science & Government Report
University of California - Merced did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking, coming in at #7. University of California - Merced is a medium-sized school located in Merced, California that handed out 94 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, 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 86%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of California - Merced
With a ranking of #8, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, this large public school awarded 328 degrees to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UCSB Political Science & Government Report
Copper Mountain Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California list. Copper Mountain Community College is a small school located in Joshua Tree, California that handed out 12 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Political Science & Government at CMC
University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking, coming in at #10. University of California - San Diego is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 469 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Full University of California - San Diego Political Science & Government Report
University of California - Riverside landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 282 degrees to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 University of California - Riverside Political Science & Government Report
University of California - Berkeley landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking. University of California - Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 537 ’s political science degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full UC Berkeley Political Science & Government Report
With a ranking of #13, Whittier College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California list. Whittier, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s political science degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.
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%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Whittier
With a ranking of #14, Santa Clara University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California list. SCU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Santa Clara, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 102 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. 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%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at Santa Clara University
University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large school located in Santa Cruz, California that handed out 201 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of California - Santa Cruz
Loyola Marymount University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 90 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 Loyola Marymount
University of California - Irvine ranked #17 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school handed out 361 diplomas to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergrad 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 & Government at University of California - Irvine
Westmont College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking. This small school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 10 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Westmont
With a ranking of #19, Claremont Graduate University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California list. Claremont Graduate University is located in Claremont, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 ’s political science degrees to qualified students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at Claremont Graduate University
University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking, coming in at #20. This large school is located in Davis, California, and it awarded 328 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Political Science & Government at University of California - Davis
With a ranking of #21, Chapman University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California list. Chapman University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Orange, California. It awarded 69 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The undergrad 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 & Government at Chapman
California Lutheran University landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking. California Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Thousand Oaks, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 31 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad 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 & Government at CLU
San Diego Mesa College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking, coming in at #23. San Diego Mesa College is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 45 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Political Science & Government at San Diego Mesa College
Santa Monica College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking, coming in at #24. SMC is a large public school situated in Santa Monica, California. It awarded 219 ’s political science degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.
Read more about Political Science & Government at SMC
California State University - Channel Islands came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Political Science Major in California ranking. Located in Camarillo, California, this medium-sized public school awarded 47 diplomas to qualified ’s political science students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad 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 & Government at California State University - Channel Islands
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