2023 Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in California
12
Ranked Colleges
252
Degrees Awarded
$32,872
Avg Salary
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 “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.
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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 252 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,566 and $21,995 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular public policy programs in the United States.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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 “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s”.
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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s”.
Top 12 Most Popular Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 91 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Riverside
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 61 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
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 1.6% 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 more about Public Policy at University of California - Los Angeles
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 33 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full USC Public Policy Report
Out of the 12 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Mills College landed the #4 spot on the list. Mills College is located in Oakland, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 22 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Mills College
Out of the 12 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Redlands landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Redlands is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Redlands, California. It awarded 18 bachelors’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
Pomona College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Pomona College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Claremont, California. It awarded 10 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Pomona College Public Policy Report
Stanford University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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. 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%.
Full Stanford University Public Policy Report
Claremont McKenna College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Claremont, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Claremont McKenna Public Policy Report
With a ranking of #9, Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s list. MSMU is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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 full report on Public Policy at Mount Saint Mary’s University
Chapman University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in Orange, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Chapman
Pitzer College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #11. Pitzer is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 bachelors’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%. 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.
Read full report on Public Policy at Pitzer College
Scripps College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in California for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Claremont, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 0 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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.
Read more about Public Policy at Scripps
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}