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Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California

128 Colleges
$50,986 Avg Salary
$22,122 Avg Student Debt

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.

The Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 128 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Public Administration & Social Service program at each school on the list.

Check out the public administration and social service programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

Our analysis found University of Southern California to be the most popular school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a degree in California. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great place for public administration and social service students. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public college with a very large student population.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at Cal State Fullerton take out an average of $12,882 in student loans while working on their egree.

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

Out of the 128 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Northridge landed the # 3 spot on the list. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at CSUN take out an average of $24,934 in student loans while working on their egree.

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

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Long Beach is a great place for public administration and social service students. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at CSULB accumulate an average of around $12,434 in student debt.

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

#5

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Diego State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California list. SDSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Diego.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at SDSU take out an average of $15,139 in student loans while working on their egree.

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

With a ranking of #6, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Cal State LA carry an average student debt load of $12,394.

Read More…

California State University - Dominguez Hills came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Located in the small city of Carson, CSUDH is a public college with a large student population.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at CSUDH take out an average of $16,263 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - Dominguez Hills Report

California State University - Sacramento ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Sac State is a very large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Sac State carry an average student debt load of $19,350. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $159.

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

University of California - Berkeley ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at UC Berkeley take out an average of $13,045 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

#10

Brandman University

Irvine, CA

With a ranking of #10, Brandman University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students. Located in the large city of Irvine, Brandman is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Brandman take out is $38,298.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Brandman University

California State University - San Bernardino came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. CSUSB is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at CSUSB take out an average of $11,917 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

#12

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA

San Jose State University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

University of California - Los Angeles ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

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

Fresno Pacific University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Fresno Pacific is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Fresno.

After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Fresno Pacific carry an average student debt load of $24,549.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Fresno Pacific University Report

California State University - Fresno landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular public administration and social service programs. Fresno State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fresno.

The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Fresno State take out is $11,042.

Read More…

California State University - Chico came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Chico, Chico State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, public administration and social service graduates from Chico State take out $18,051 in student loans while working on their degree.

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

California Baptist University ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California list. Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Cal Baptist carry an average student debt load of $38,688.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at California Baptist University Report

California State University - Monterey Bay came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California ranking. CSUMB is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Seaside.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at CSUMB take out an average of $16,250 in student loans while working on their egree.

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

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Public & Social Service students in the state of California that almost earned our Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in California award.

Rank College Location
20 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA
21 California State University - Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA
22 University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA
23 Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA
24 Humboldt State University Arcata, CA
25 National University La Jolla, CA

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Most Popular 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

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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