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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in California (With Aid)

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 Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree 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.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

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 for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in California (With Aid)

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 for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 126 masters’s public policy degrees 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. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Berkeley are $29,347, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Public Policy at University of California - Berkeley

#2

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 58 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree public policy students with aid list, UCLA has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. 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 more about Public Policy at UCLA

#3

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 #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 23 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at Stanford University

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #4 spot on the list. UC 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 also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

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

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCR, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at University of California - Riverside

#6

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, California Lutheran University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. CLU is a small school located in Thousand Oaks, California that handed out 23 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

CLU also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. Average graduate tuition and fees at CLU are $20,600, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at CLU

#7

Mills College

Oakland, California

Mills College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Mills College is a small school located in Oakland, California that handed out 3 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mills, the school also landed 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 are $36,263.

Read more about Public Policy at Mills College

#8

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 96 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

USC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Southern California

#9

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

Pepperdine University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Pepperdine 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 also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at Pepperdine are $36,320, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Pepperdine University 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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