2023 Best Value Public Administration Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Public Administration School for You
In 2020-2021, 1,883 degrees and certificates were awarded to public administration students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #58 most popular major in the state.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Public Administration Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 24 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for public admin students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Public Administration Schools
Our analysis found San Jose State University to be the best value school for public administration students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.
San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $7,852 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
San Jose State also claimed a spot on our Best Public Administration Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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The excellent programs at California State University - Northridge helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration schools in California. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Northridge.
CSUN undergraduate students pay an average of $7,043 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, public admin majors at CSUN accumulate an average of around $37,500 in student debt.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Administration Schools in California list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.
Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Full Public Administration at California State University - Fresno Report
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The excellent programs at California State University - Sacramento helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration schools in California. Sac State is a very large public school located in the city of Sacramento.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year.
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Out of the 24 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Bakersfield landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUB are $7,579 per year.
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California State University - Long Beach landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration programs. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year.
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San Francisco State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration programs. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFSU are $7,304 per year.
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With a ranking of #8, California State University - East Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 per year.
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California State University - Los Angeles ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Schools in California list. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State LA are $6,785 per year.
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With a ranking of #10, California State University - Fullerton did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $6,976 per year. After completing their degree, public admin graduates from Cal State Fullerton carry an average student debtload of $12,882.
Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Fullerton
Request InformationBest Value Public Administration Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Public Administration Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
State | Degrees Awarded |
---|---|
Washington | 297 |
Oregon | 117 |
Nevada | 78 |
Hawaii | 186 |
Alaska | 34 |
More Public Administration Rankings in California
Public Administration Related Majors for Public Admin
Public Administration is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
Related Major | Annual Graduates |
---|---|
Social Work | 58,326 |
Human Services | 13,238 |
Public Policy | 6,430 |
Community Organization & Advocacy | 3,096 |
Other Public Administration | 588 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 24 schools only.
- 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream.
More about our data sources and methodologies.