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Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

31 Colleges
$33,749 Avg Salary
$29,352 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree School for You

With 8,979 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, public administration and social service is the #16 most popular major in California.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 31 schools in California to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for public administration and social service majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best school in California for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - Northridge Report

Out of the 31 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at San Jose State University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of California - Los Angeles

#5

National University

La Jolla, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend National University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. National University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Jolla.

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#6

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of San Francisco

California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. CSUSB is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of San Bernardino.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - San Bernardino

California State University - East Bay ranked #8 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - East Bay

With a ranking of #9, Fresno Pacific University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Fresno Pacific is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fresno.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Fresno Pacific University

California Baptist University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the large city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California Baptist University

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 1,252
Oregon 832
Hawaii 396
Nevada 610
Alaska 121

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 58,326
Public Administration 16,905
Human Services 13,238
Public Policy 6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 73,813
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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