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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration in California (With Aid)

12 Ranked Colleges
328 Degrees Awarded
$16,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 17,269 people earned their degree in public administration, making the major the 47th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 1,888 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 328 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in public administration. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public administration programs that also have a lower cost than 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 administration program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration in California (With Aid)

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Dominguez Hills. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Dominguez Hills is a public institution located in Carson, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 42 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUDH did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend CSUDH is $4,215 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.

Full California State University - Dominguez Hills Public Administration Report

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Northridge. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Northridge, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 41 students in 2019-2020.

CSUN also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,414 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid per year to attend California State University - Northridge.

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 full report on Public Administration at CSUN

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fullerton landed the #3 spot on the list. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 40 students in 2019-2020.

Cal State Fullerton not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cal State Fullerton is $7,991 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Cal State Fullerton Public Administration Report

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. SDSU is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 98 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid list, SDSU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Diego State University is $14,788 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students with aid.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full SDSU Public Administration Report

#10 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #5 spot on the list. UCR is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 13 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCR is $12,871 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students with aid.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of California - Riverside Public Administration Report

#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Bakersfield did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Bakersfield is a fairly large school located in Bakersfield, California that handed out 8 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Bakersfield is $5,318 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students with aid.

Read full report on Public Administration at CSUB

#9 in overall quality

California State University - Chico came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. California State University - Chico is located in Chico, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid list, Chico State has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $15,017 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students with aid per year to attend Chico State.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Chico

#8

National University

La Jolla, California
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, National University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

National University also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full National University Public Administration Report

#9

California Baptist University

Riverside, California
#1 in overall quality

California Baptist University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California Baptist University is located in Riverside, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid list, Cal Baptist has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California Baptist University is $24,707 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at California Baptist University

#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, The University of Arizona Global Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

UAGC also took the #11 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The University of Arizona Global Campus is $20,510 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students with aid.

Read full report on Public Administration at The University of Arizona Global Campus

#11

University of La Verne

La Verne, California
#7 in overall quality

University of La Verne ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. La Verne, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ULV, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $25,780 for california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid per year to attend University of La Verne.

The low 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%.

Full University of La Verne Public Administration Report

#12

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California
#3 in overall quality

University of San Francisco did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #12. University of San Francisco is a fairly large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 1 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree public admin students with aid list, USFCA has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of San Francisco is $36,424 for California Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 Public Administration at USFCA

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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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