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Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

23 Colleges
$14,804 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$52,728 Avg Salary

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.

2023 Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the public admin master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

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 city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at San Jose State are $9,286 a year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

Fresno State graduate students pay an average of $8,087 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Fresno

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

CSUN graduate students pay an average of $8,477 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Northridge Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California State University - Sacramento. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Sac State is a very large public school located in the city of Sacramento.

Sac State graduate students pay an average of $8,826 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Sacramento Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means California State University - Bakersfield is a great value for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Bakersfield, CSUB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUB are $9,013 a year.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Bakersfield Report

California State University - Long Beach landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $8,280 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration at California State University - Long Beach

#7

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California list. 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.

Read full report on Public Administration at San Francisco State University

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 small city of Carson, CSUDH is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUDH are $8,494 a year.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

California State University - East Bay came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $8,429 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

California State University - Fullerton landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 per year.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Fullerton Report

Best 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

Public Administration is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

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.

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