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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California

8 Ranked Colleges
480 Degrees Awarded
$34,400 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master's in California

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 Policy Schools for a Master’s in California” 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.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy programs, but they also cost less that 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.

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 for a Master’s in California”.

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

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

Top 8 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in California

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #1 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 126 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UC Berkeley also took 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.

Full University of California - Berkeley Public Policy Report

#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 list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 58 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

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

Full University of California - Los Angeles Public Policy Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #3 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

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 University of California - Irvine are $28,456, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #4 spot on the list. UCR is a large school located in Riverside, California that handed out 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. 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 more about Public Policy at University of California - Riverside

#5

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Lutheran University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California. Located in Thousand Oaks, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 23 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

CLU also took the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. 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

#6

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

Pepperdine University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #6. Pepperdine is a medium-sized school located in Malibu, California that handed out 26 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Pepperdine, the school also landed the #7 spot 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

#7

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

With a ranking of #7, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California 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 list, USC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at USC are $48,715, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Public Policy at USC

#8

Stanford University

Stanford, California

Stanford University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #8. Stanford University 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.

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 are $55,011.

Read full report on Public Policy at Stanford

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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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