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by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,484 degrees awarded in 2021-2022. In , public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $32,327 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Far Western US region, there were 954 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,209 and $42,277 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region” ranking looked at 31 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their public policy program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region” list to help you make the college decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region public policy students.
Out of the 31 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Pomona College landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Claremont, California, and it awarded 12 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California Lutheran University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region. CLU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Thousand Oaks, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 28 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at California Lutheran University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school handed out 114 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Riverside
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Redlands. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region. This small school is located in Redlands, California, and it awarded 21 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Pepperdine University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region ranking. Pepperdine University is a fairly large school located in Malibu, California that handed out 33 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Claremont McKenna College landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region ranking. Claremont, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 11 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Public Policy at Claremont McKenna College
University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 170 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Washington - Bothell Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Bothell, Washington, and it awarded 15 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of Southern California ranked #10 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 199 students in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #11, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 119 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Stanford University ranked #12 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Stanford University is located in Stanford, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 41 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #13. This large school is located in La Jolla, California, and it awarded 49 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #14, Oregon State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Oregon State is a public institution located in Corvallis, Oregon. The school has a large population, and it awarded 31 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
With a ranking of #15, Portland State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Portland, Oregon is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 16 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Public Policy at Portland State University
Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #16. MSMU is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 11 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #17 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Located in San Luis Obispo, California, this large public school handed out 13 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Public Policy at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
University of Nevada - Las Vegas did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #18. Las Vegas, Nevada is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 21 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Washington State University ranked #19 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Pullman, Washington, this large public school awarded 11 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Loma Linda University ranked #20 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Loma Linda University is a small school located in Loma Linda, California that handed out 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of California - Irvine landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region ranking. University of California - Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 25 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of California - San Francisco landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region ranking. University of California - San Francisco is a public institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Public Policy at University of California - San Francisco
With a ranking of #23, Central Washington University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Central Washington University is located in Ellensburg, Washington and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 3 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #24, University of the Pacific did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Stockton, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 3 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #25, Chapman University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Far Western US Region list. Chapman University is a fairly large school located in Orange, California that handed out 0 ’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
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