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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k

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 $75-$110k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking.

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.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 9 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. 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 $75-$110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) 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 $75-$110k. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 23 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Stanford, the school also landed the #3 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 Stanford University are $55,011.

Full Stanford Public Policy Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k. 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.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #2 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 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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 58 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at UCLA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. UCR is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCR not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCR are $28,686, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at UCR

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 22 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #5 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 University of California - Irvine are $28,456.

Read more about Public Policy at University of California - Irvine

#6

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

With a ranking of #6, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 96 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k 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 University of Southern California are $48,715.

Full USC Public Policy Report

#7

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#8 in overall quality

California Lutheran University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. This small school is located in Thousand Oaks, California, and it awarded 23 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

CLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at CLU are $20,600, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at CLU

#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 $75-$110k ranking. Mills College is located in Oakland, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Mills also took the #0 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Mills College are $36,263, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Mills Public Policy Report

#9

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

Pepperdine University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Located in Malibu, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 26 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $75-$110k list, Pepperdine has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Pepperdine are $36,320, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Pepperdine Public Policy Report

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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