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Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California

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2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California

5 Colleges
$55,530 Avg Salary
$25,500 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate 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.

The Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 5 schools in California to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for public administration and social service majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Top California Schools for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Public & Social Service

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

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of California - Berkeley Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Golden Gate University - San Francisco helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in California. Located in the city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Golden Gate University - San Francisco Report

Out of the 5 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 4 spot on the 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

The excellent graduate certificate programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in California. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

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 5 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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