1
by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2021-2022, 6,484 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 113th most popular in the United States. In , public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $32,327 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 853 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,313 and $45,815 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California” ranking analyzed 23 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their public policy program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California” 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California”.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Pomona College. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California. Pomona is located in Claremont, California and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 12 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Lutheran University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California. CLU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Thousand Oaks, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 28 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at California Lutheran University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 114 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 23 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Redlands landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit institution located in Redlands, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 21 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%.
Pepperdine University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking, coming in at #6. Malibu, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 33 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Claremont McKenna College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking, coming in at #7. Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Claremont, California. It awarded 11 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Public Policy at Claremont McKenna College
University of California - Los Angeles came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 170 students in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #9, University of Southern California did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. University of Southern California 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 2021-2022.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #10, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. This large school is located in Berkeley, California, and it awarded 119 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%.
Stanford University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking, coming in at #11. Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 41 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.2% 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%.
With a ranking of #12, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. UCSD is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 49 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking, coming in at #13. Mount Saint Mary’s University is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 11 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
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%.
With a ranking of #14, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a large public school situated in San Luis Obispo, California. It awarded 13 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Public Policy Report
With a ranking of #15, Loma Linda University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. This small school is located in Loma Linda, California, and it awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.4% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking, coming in at #16. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 25 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
University of California - San Francisco ranked #17 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. UCSF is a public institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Public Policy at University of California - San Francisco
With a ranking of #18, University of the Pacific did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. This medium-sized school is located in Stockton, California, and it awarded 3 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Chapman University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. Chapman is a fairly large school located in Orange, California that handed out 0 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Claremont Graduate University landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. Claremont Graduate University is located in Claremont, California and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 2 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Claremont Graduate University
With a ranking of #20, University of California - Hastings College of Law did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. UC Hastings is located in San Francisco, California and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 0 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Scripps College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. Located in Claremont, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Pitzer College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking, coming in at #20. Pitzer is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
.jpg){kind=link}