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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k

9 Ranked Colleges
480 Degrees Awarded
$34,600 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master's in California For Those Making $48-$75k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 6,199 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 722 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $55,286 and $47,721 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 480 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in California

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #1 spot on the list. Stanford, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

Stanford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford University are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Stanford University Public Policy Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 126 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, UC Berkeley has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of California - Berkeley Public Policy Report

#3

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 58 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Los Angeles are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Public Policy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k list. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at University of California - Irvine

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k. UCR is located in Riverside, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UCR also took the #6 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Riverside are $28,686, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Riverside

#6

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

University of Southern California came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 96 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715.

Read more about Public Policy at USC

#7

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#8 in overall quality

California Lutheran University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. CLU is a small school located in Thousand Oaks, California that handed out 23 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

CLU also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. Average graduate tuition and fees at CLU are $20,600, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at California Lutheran University

#8

Mills College

Oakland, California

Mills College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #8. Mills is located in Oakland, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Mills also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #0. Average graduate tuition and fees at Mills College are $36,263, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at Mills College

#9

Pepperdine University

Malibu, California

Pepperdine University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Malibu, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 26 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, Pepperdine has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Pepperdine University are $36,320, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at Pepperdine

Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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