2025 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California
26
Colleges in California
8,931
Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$47,851
Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in
public administration & social service, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #14 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 26 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for public administration & social service students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 8,931 degrees in public administration & social service annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Public Administration & Social Service School
The public administration & social service program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration & Social Service rankings. We derive our Best Overall Public Administration & Social Service School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Public Administration & Social Service Rankings by Degree Level
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 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Best Schools for Public Administration & Social Service in California
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the public administration & social service degrees they offer, see the list below.
10 Top California Schools in Public Administration & Social Service
It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a degree in public administration & social service. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 1125 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration & social service students who get their degree from University of Southern California receive $15,650 more than the average public administration & social service graduate.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from University of Southern California
University of California - Berkeley is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in public administration & social service. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were approximately 318 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley get an earnings boost of around $19,550 above the average earnings of public administration & social service graduates.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from University of California - Berkeley
Masters
Degree Type
MBA in Public Administration
Program Name
Fit new strategic skills into your public service passion and goals when you earn an MBA in Public Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.
More information about a degree in MBA in Public Administration from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
Any student pursuing a degree in public administration & social service has to take a look at California State University - Northridge. Located in the city of Northridge, CSUN is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #350 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means CSUN is a great university overall.
There were roughly 401 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration & social service students who get their degree from California State University - Northridge make $18,907 more than the standard public administration & social service student.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California State University - Northridge
It is difficult to beat California State University - Long Beach if you wish to pursue a degree in public administration & social service. CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Long Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #246 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.
There were approximately 469 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from California State University - Long Beach receive an earnings boost of approximately $15,556 above the average income of public administration & social service graduates.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California State University - Long Beach
SDSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #185 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 308 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration & social service major at San Diego State University earn $2,276 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from San Diego State University
Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #267 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Sac State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 304 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent data year. After graduation, public administration & social service degree recipients typically make an average of $49,428 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California State University - Sacramento
Located in the large city of San Diego, National University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #249 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means National University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 113 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration & social service program at National University make $25,671 more than the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from National University
Bachelors
Degree Type
BA in Human Services
Program Name
Improve the lives of individuals, families and communities with the human service tools gained from this online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
More information about a degree in BA in Human Services from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
Located in the midsize city of San Bernardino, CSUSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 82nd out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 251 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at CSUSB in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration & social service students who get their degree from California State University - San Bernardino earn $14,912 more than the typical public administration & social service student.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California State University - San Bernardino
Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 66th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 217 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at Cal Baptist in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration & social service degree program at California Baptist University earn $28,650 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California Baptist University
Cal State LA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 87th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 400 public administration & social service students who graduated with this degree at Cal State LA in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration & social service students who get their degree from California State University - Los Angeles earn $5,871 more than the typical public administration & social service graduate.
More information about a degree in public administration & social service from California State University - Los Angeles
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