Public Policy is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #113 most popular degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.
College Factual looked at 7 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Public Policy Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 798 degrees in public policy during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Your choice of public policy school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Public Policy School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Policy Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
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.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
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The schools below may not offer all types of public policy degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
Any student who is interested in public policy has to take a look at University of California - Berkeley. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were about 114 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Those public policy students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley earn $25,210 more than the typical public policy student.
Every student pursuing a degree in public policy has to check out University of Southern California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 199 public policy students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Those public policy students who get their degree from University of Southern California earn $5,734 more than the standard public policy graduate.
Every student pursuing a degree in public policy needs to check out University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 131 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public policy major at University of California - Los Angeles make $6,762 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Loma Linda University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in public policy. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Loma Linda.
There were about 2 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Loma Linda University in the most recent data year.
It's difficult to beat University of California - Riverside if you want to pursue a degree in public policy. UCR is a very large public university located in the large city of Riverside. This university ranks 36th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 109 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the public policy program make an average of $36,098 for their early career.
MSMU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 52nd out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 2 public policy students who graduated with this degree at MSMU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, public policy degree recipients usually make an average of $37,690 in their early careers.
Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 15th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 14 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. After graduating, public policy degree recipients generally earn around $51,313 in the first five years of their career.
Pepperdine is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Malibu. This university ranks 16th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 31 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Pepperdine in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public policy program make about $49,825 in their early career salary.
Mills is a private not-for-profit college located in the city of Oakland.
There were about 31 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Mills in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, public policy degree recipients generally earn around $45,134 in the first five years of their career.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
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Your choice of public policy school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Public Policy School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
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