2023 Most Focused Colleges for Public Policy in California
23
Ranked Colleges
798
Degrees Awarded
$38,800
Avg Cost*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 798 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,313 and $22,744 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California” ranking looked at 23 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.
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 “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California” 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.
Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California”.
Top 23 Most Focused Colleges for Public Policy in California
Out of the 23 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Mills College landed the #1 spot on the list. Mills College is located in Oakland, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Public Policy at Mills
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 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Full Pomona College Public Policy Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Lutheran University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. CLU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Thousand Oaks, California. It awarded 30 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.
Full CLU Public Policy Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California. University of California - Riverside is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 109 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at UCR
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. This small school is located in Redlands, California, and it awarded 18 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Redlands
Pepperdine University ranked #6 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. 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 31 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Pepperdine University
Claremont McKenna College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. Claremont McKenna is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Public Policy at Claremont McKenna
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. University of California - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 131 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Public Policy Report
University of Southern California came in at #9 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 private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 199 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full University of Southern California Public Policy Report
University of California - Berkeley did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking, coming in at #10. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school handed out 114 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%.
Read more about Public Policy at UC Berkeley
With a ranking of #11, Stanford University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 31 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Stanford University
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. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 57 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%.
Read more about Public Policy at UCSD
Mount Saint Mary’s University came in at #13 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 small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.
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. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.
Read more about Public Policy at MSMU
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. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a public institution located in San Luis Obispo, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
Loma Linda University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking, coming in at #15. This small school is located in Loma Linda, California, and it awarded 2 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Loma Linda University
University of California - Irvine came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 14 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Irvine
With a ranking of #17, University of California - San Francisco did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. University of California - San Francisco is a small school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - San Francisco
University of the Pacific landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. Pacific is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stockton, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at Pacific
With a ranking of #19, Chapman University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California list. This medium-sized school is located in Orange, California, and it awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% 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 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Chapman University Public Policy Report
Claremont Graduate University 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 0 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, 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. This small school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 0 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. 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 - Hastings College of Law
Scripps College landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. Scripps College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. 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.
Full Scripps College Public Policy Report
Pitzer College landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in California ranking. Pitzer is a small school located in Claremont, California that handed out 0 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Pitzer College Public Policy Report
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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
college factual
.jpg){kind=link}