2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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 Value Public & Social Service Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 33 schools in California 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.
Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools
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 California. Located in the large city of San Diego, San Diego City College is a public school with a fairly large student population.
San Diego City College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,144 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.
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The excellent programs at Fresno City College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in California. Fresno City College is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.
Fresno City College undergraduate students pay an average of $1,304 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Fresno City College take out is $5,574.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at San Jose State are $7,852 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in California list.
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Out of the 33 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the # 4 spot on the list. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Fresno State are $6,653 a year. 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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The excellent programs at California State University - Monterey Bay helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in California. CSUMB is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Seaside.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUMB are $7,218 per year. While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at CSUMB accumulate an average of around $16,250 in student debt.
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California State University - Los Angeles landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration and social service programs. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State LA are $6,785 a year. On average, public administration and social service graduates from Cal State LA take out $12,394 in student loans while working on their degree.
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California State University - Long Beach came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at CSULB take out is $12,434.
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California State University - Sacramento did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #8 on the list. Sac State is a very large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Sac State are $7,392 per year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Sac State take out is $19,350. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $159.
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California State University - Northridge ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California list. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CSUN are $7,043 per year. Public Administration & Social Service majors at CSUN take out an average of $24,934 in student loans while working on their egree.
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California State University - East Bay came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the suburb of Hayward.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal State East Bay are $6,995 a year.
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Request InformationBest Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value 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
Majors Related to Public Administration & Social Service
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.
- 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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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