2023 Best Public & Social Service Schools in California
Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Public & Social Service Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 33 schools in California to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California
Check out the public administration and social service programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best school in California for public administration and social service students. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at UC Berkeley accumulate an average of around $13,045 in student debt.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great place for public administration and social service students. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Southern California is a great place for public administration and social service students. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
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The excellent programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA 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 University of San Francisco. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Schools in California list. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.
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Golden Gate University - San Francisco came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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San Diego City College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of San Diego, San Diego City College is a public college with a large student population.
While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at San Diego City College accumulate an average of around $8,012 in student debt.
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California State University - Stanislaus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a large student population.
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California State University - Fresno came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.
Public Administration & Social Service majors at Fresno State take out an average of $11,042 in student loans while working on their egree.
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California State University - Long Beach came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at CSULB take out is $12,434.
Request InformationBest 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 |
More Public Administration & Social Service Rankings in California
Public Administration & Social Service Related Rankings by Major
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 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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.