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2025 Best Education Doctor's Degree Schools in California

11 Colleges in California
1,674 Doctor's Degrees
$106,095 Avg Early-Career Salary
Education is of the hottest doctor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #3 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 11 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of education. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,674 doctor's degrees in education during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Education School for Your Doctor's Degree

Best Education Doctor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of education for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality education program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for education students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Education Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Education Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Education Doctor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Education in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in education.

10 Top California Schools for a Doctorate in Education

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat San Diego State University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in education. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in education from San Diego State University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Azusa Pacific University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in education. Located in the suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in education from Azusa Pacific University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
29 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat California State University - Fullerton if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in education. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Fullerton.More information about a doctorate in education from California State University - Fullerton

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in education needs to check out Brandman University. Located in the city of Irvine, Brandman is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in education from Brandman University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Annual Graduates

ULV is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of La Verne.More information about a doctorate in education from University of La Verne

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
25 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in education from California State University - Fresno

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15 Annual Graduates

CSUSB is a large public university located in the midsize city of San Bernardino.More information about a doctorate in education from California State University - San Bernardino

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
25 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in education from San Francisco State University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
21 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in education from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in education from California State University - Los Angeles

Best Education Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Education Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 27 146
Oregon 27 99
Nevada 25 40
Hawaii 23 35

View All Rankings >

Education Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 1,036
General Education 527
Other Education 32
Multilingual Education 21
Educational Assessment 18
Teacher Education Grade Specific 10
Special Education 9
Instructional Media Design 7
Education Philosophy 6
Curriculum & Instruction 5

Notes and References

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