2023 Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Public Administration Master's Degree 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree 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 Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.
San Jose State graduate students pay an average of $9,286 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Fresno helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration schools in California. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Fresno State are $8,087 per year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Northridge helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration schools in California. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Northridge.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUN are $8,477 per year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Sacramento helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration schools in California. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Sacramento.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Sac State are $8,826 per year.
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Out of the 23 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 city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public school with a large student population.
CSUB graduate students pay an average of $9,013 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.
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With a ranking of #7, San Francisco State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at SFSU are $8,738 a year.
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California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUDH are $8,494 a year.
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With a ranking of #9, California State University - East Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State East Bay are $8,429 a year.
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California State University - Fullerton ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 per year.
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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 23 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.