2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 5 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate 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.
Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Public & Social Service
Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Berkeley the best value school in California for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Berkeley are $14,160 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UC Berkeley also is in the top 15% of our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in California ranking.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of California - Berkeley Report
Request Information
Out of the 5 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 2 spot on the list. CSUN is a very large public school located in the city of Northridge.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSUN are $8,477 per year.
Request Information
Out of the 5 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.
CSULB graduate students pay an average of $8,280 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Request Information
Out of the 5 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Golden Gate University - San Francisco landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Golden Gate University - San Francisco are $19,875 per year.
Request Information
The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of Southern California helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at USC are $61,396 per year.
Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of Southern California
Request InformationBest Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges 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 5 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.
.jpg){kind=link}
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.