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2024 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California

35 Colleges in California
9,390 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$50,986 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in public administration & social service, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #14 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 35 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 9,390 degrees in public administration & social service during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration & Social Service School

Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California The public administration & social service program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration & Social Service rankings. We derive our Best Overall Public Administration & Social Service School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Public Administration & Social Service Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Public Administration & Social Service
Bachelor's Degrees in Public Administration & Social Service
Master's Degrees in Public Administration & Social Service
Doctor's Degrees in Public Administration & Social Service

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 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Public Administration & Social Service in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the public administration & social service degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Public Administration & Social Service

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
311 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$61,564 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Berkeley is a good decision for students pursuing a degree in public administration & social service. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 311 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration & social service major at University of California - Berkeley make $10,578 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from University of California - Berkeley

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,466 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$74,186 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a degree in public administration & social service. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 1466 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of about $23,201 over the typical income of public administration & social service majors.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from University of Southern California

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
223 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
36.8% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in public administration & social service. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were approximately 223 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration & social service students who get their degree from University of California - Los Angeles make $7,900 more than the standard public administration & social service grad.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from University of California - Los Angeles

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
375 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$45,289 Median Starting Salary

San Diego State University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration & social service. SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 375 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public administration & social service program make around $45,289 for their early career.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from San Diego State University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
227 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$54,163 Median Starting Salary

San Jose State is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Jose. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were about 227 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration & social service major at San Jose State University earn $3,177 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from San Jose State University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
432 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$48,435 Median Starting Salary

CSULB is a very large public university located in the city of Long Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #186 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.

There were roughly 432 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public administration & social service program earn around $48,435 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California State University - Long Beach

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
336 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$45,677 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 39th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 336 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the public administration & social service program state that they receive average early career wages of $45,677.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California State University - Sacramento

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$84,062 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #181 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a great university overall.

There were about 30 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at Golden Gate University - San Francisco in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration & social service degree program at Golden Gate University - San Francisco earn $33,076 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from Golden Gate University - San Francisco

9
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
93 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
20.4% Growth in Graduates

USFCA is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 93 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year. Those public administration & social service students who get their degree from University of San Francisco receive $25,039 more than the average public administration & social service graduate.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from University of San Francisco

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
457 Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
1.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Northridge, CSUN is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 49th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 457 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration & social service major at California State University - Northridge get $4,749 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California State University - Northridge

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 37 1,245
Oregon 37 822
Hawaii 36 396
Nevada 35 600
Alaska 33 119

View All Rankings >

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 1,883
Human Services 1,746
Public Policy 798
Other Public Administration 101
Community Organization & Advocacy 43

View All Public Administration & Social Service Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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