2023 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in California
8
Ranked Colleges
798
Degrees Awarded
$15,400
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 798 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,313 and $22,744 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy programs and cost less that 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 policy program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The public policy 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 Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in California
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 114 students in 2020-2021.
UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $9,999 for california public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 Policy at UC Berkeley
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 131 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UCLA also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for UCLA is $9,891 for California Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Public Policy at UCLA
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. USC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 199 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $17,345 for California Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend USC.
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 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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 more about Public Policy at USC
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #4 spot on the list. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 109 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
UCR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend UCR is $8,193 for california public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at UCR
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #5 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 14 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $8,449 for california public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UC Irvine.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 - Irvine Public Policy Report
California Lutheran University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Thousand Oaks, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 30 students in 2020-2021.
CLU also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $20,772 for california public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California Lutheran University.
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%.
Full CLU Public Policy Report
Mills College landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Oakland, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 31 students in 2020-2021.
Mills also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $22,472 for California Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Mills.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Mills Public Policy Report
Pepperdine University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. Pepperdine is a fairly large school located in Malibu, California that handed out 31 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
Pepperdine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Pepperdine University is $25,909 for california public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.
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 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Public Policy at Pepperdine University
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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
- *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
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