Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in California

9 Ranked Colleges
480 Degrees Awarded
$34,600 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master's in California For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 722 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $55,286 and $47,721 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 480 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 23 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, Stanford has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Stanford University Public Policy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 126 students in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Policy Master’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 University of California - Berkeley are $29,347.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Berkeley

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 58 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Los Angeles

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #4 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Policy Master’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 Irvine are $28,456.

Read full report on Public Policy at UC Irvine

#5

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 96 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, USC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’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 USC are $48,715.

Read full report on Public Policy at USC

With a ranking of #6, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of California - Riverside is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UCR did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Public Policy Master’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 University of California - Riverside are $28,686.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Riverside

#7

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#8 in overall quality

California Lutheran University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. This small school is located in Thousand Oaks, California, and it awarded 23 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

CLU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California Lutheran University are $20,600, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full CLU Public Policy Report

#8

Mills College

Oakland, California

Mills College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This small school is located in Oakland, California, and it awarded 3 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Mills also took the #0 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’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 Mills College are $36,263.

Read more about Public Policy at Mills College

#9

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

With a ranking of #9, Pepperdine University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Pepperdine University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Malibu, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 26 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Pepperdine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Pepperdine University are $36,320, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at Pepperdine University

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 Public Administration Schools

Find Schools Near You