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Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

67 Colleges
$21,955 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$47,765 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service School for You

Public Administration & Social Service is the #14 most popular major in the country with 98,583 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

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 Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 67 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for public administration and social service students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools

#1

San Diego City College

San Diego, CA
$8,512 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found San Diego City College to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a degree in the Far Western US Region . Located in the city of San Diego, San Diego City College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Diego City College are $8,512 a year. 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.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at San Diego City College

#2

Fresno City College

Fresno, CA
$8,504 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Fresno City College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Fresno City College is a very large public school located in the large city of Fresno.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Fresno City College are $8,504 a year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Fresno City College take out is $5,574.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Fresno City College Report

$10,391 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tacoma Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Tacoma, Tacoma Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Tacoma Community College are $10,391 a year. After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Tacoma Community College carry an average student debtload of $24,966.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Tacoma Community College

$9,552 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Phoenix - California. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Costa Mesa, UOPX - California is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UOPX - California are $9,552 a year. While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at UOPX - California accumulate an average of around $48,117 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $132, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

$9,552 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Phoenix - Nevada. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region list. UOPX - Nevada is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Las Vegas.

UOPX - Nevada undergraduate students pay an average of $9,552 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from UOPX - Nevada carry an average student debtload of $48,117. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $132, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

San Jose State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,732 in tuition and fees each year.

San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

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

#7

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration and social service programs. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of La Jolla.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at National University are $13,320 a year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at National University take out is $30,239.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, National University also did well on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at National University Report

$37,018 Average Tuition & Fees

California Baptist University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cal Baptist are $37,018 per year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Cal Baptist take out is $38,688.

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

Golden Gate University - San Francisco ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Golden Gate University - San Francisco undergraduate students pay an average of $11,343 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$19,524 Average Tuition & Fees

California State University - Stanislaus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Turlock, Stan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Stan State are $19,524 per year.

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

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great value schools for Public & Social Service students in the Far Western US Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Region award.

Rank College Location
11 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
12 California State University - Fresno Fresno, CA
13 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration and social service schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 8,979
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.

  • 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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