43 Best colleges for Political Economy in California, US

Updated: February 29, 2024

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Political Economy. A graph of 440K citations received by 16.4K academic papers made by 43 universities in California was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Political Economy

#1 in the United States

#1 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $21,669
Enrollment: 45,307

2. Stanford University

Stanford

For Political Economy

#3 in the United States

#3 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $18,279

3. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Political Economy

#5 in the United States

#5 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $21,766
Enrollment: 46,430

4. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Political Economy

#12 in the United States

#15 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 24%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $20,782
Enrollment: 42,006

5. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Political Economy

#25 in the United States

#28 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $17,411
Enrollment: 35,937

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Political Economy

#32 in the United States

#36 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $36,808

7. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Political Economy

#36 in the United States

#40 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 37%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $20,548
Enrollment: 39,679

8. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Political Economy

#44 in the United States

#49 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $20,389
Enrollment: 26,420

9. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Political Economy

#55 in the United States

#64 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 74%
Average Aid: $21,202
Enrollment: 19,478

10. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Political Economy

#63 in the United States

#74 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $22,042
Enrollment: 26,809

11. John F. Kennedy University

Pleasant Hill

For Political Economy

#94 in the United States

#110 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Founded: 1964

12. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Political Economy

#106 in the United States

#122 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 23%
Enrollment: 2,670
Male:Female: 78:22
Founded: 1909

13. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Political Economy

#110 in the United States

#126 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 78%
Average Aid: $9,830
Enrollment: 25,282

14. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Political Economy

#119 in the United States

#136 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Receiving Aid: 98%
Average Aid: $9,934
Enrollment: 37,402

15. Claremont Graduate University

Claremont

For Political Economy

#157 in the United States

#182 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 35%
Enrollment: 1,903
Male:Female: 40:60
Founded: 1925

16. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Political Economy

#159 in the United States

#184 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $20,755
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $59,192

17. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Political Economy

#171 in the United States

#199 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 41%
Average SAT: 1380
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $52,815

18. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Political Economy

#173 in the United States

#201 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Average SAT: 1385
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $50,551

19. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Political Economy

#178 in the United States

#206 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1310
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $42,953

20. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Political Economy

#184 in the United States

#212 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $9,210
Enrollment: 35,751

21. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Political Economy

#196 in the United States

#225 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 53%
Net Price: $36,008
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $36,408

22. Claremont McKenna College

Claremont

For Political Economy

#200 in the United States

#229 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1495
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $28,701

23. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Political Economy

#203 in the United States

#232 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,478
Enrollment: 38,973

24. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Political Economy

#209 in the United States

#238 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $25,868
Enrollment: 9,103

25. Pomona College

Claremont

For Political Economy

#219 in the United States

#248 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 7%
Average SAT: 1520
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $19,962

26. Chapman University

Orange

For Political Economy

#220 in the United States

#249 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Average SAT: 1300
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $45,033

27. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Political Economy

#233 in the United States

#263 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,194
Enrollment: 40,386

28. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Political Economy

#236 in the United States

#266 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $10,511
Enrollment: 37,579

29. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Political Economy

#243 in the United States

#275 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,140
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

30. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Political Economy

#246 in the United States

#278 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,968
Enrollment: 23,999

31. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Political Economy

#247 in the United States

#280 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 92%
Average Aid: $10,907
Enrollment: 26,460

32. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Political Economy

#261 in the United States

#294 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 98%
Receiving Aid: 76%
Average Aid: $9,262
Enrollment: 6,025

33. Pepperdine University

Malibu

For Political Economy

#263 in the United States

#296 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 49%
Average SAT: 1383
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $47,804

34. Occidental College

Los Angeles

For Political Economy

#265 in the United States

#299 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Average SAT: 1440
Average ACT: 33
Net Price: $44,853

35. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Political Economy

#290 in the United States

#325 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $9,590
Enrollment: 31,818

36. California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino

For Political Economy

#296 in the United States

#331 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,871
Enrollment: 19,803

37. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Political Economy

#324 in the United States

#361 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 72%
Average Aid: $9,162
Enrollment: 14,183

38. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson

For Political Economy

#350 in the United States

#387 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $9,819
Enrollment: 16,426

39. University of Redlands

Redlands

For Political Economy

#351 in the United States

#389 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Average SAT: 1196
Average ACT: 28
Net Price: $28,157

40. Mills College

Oakland

For Political Economy

#352 in the United States

#390 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Net Price: $25,283
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $22,278

41. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Political Economy

#370 in the United States

#411 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $10,065
Enrollment: 22,000

42. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Political Economy

#380 in the United States

#422 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 55%
Receiving Aid: 77%
Average Aid: $9,040
Enrollment: 27,503

43. University of the West

Rosemead

For Political Economy

#387 in the United States

#430 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 78%
Net Price: $19,028
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $8,190

Closest to California states to learn Political Economy

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	5	88
Utah	3	61
Arizona	3	33
Washington	7	13
Colorado	7	46
Nebraska	3	129
Kansas	3	75
Texas	17	14
Oklahoma	3	99
Minnesota	4	47
Iowa	5	48
Missouri	7	26
Arkansas	3	69
Louisiana	4	96
Wisconsin	6	15
Illinois	18	6
Mississippi	3	147
Indiana	9	30
Michigan	8	9
Tennessee	5	42
Alabama	4	86
Kentucky	4	74
Ohio	16	17
Georgia	8	39
South Carolina	4	78
North Carolina	14	20
Virginia	13	28
Pennsylvania	21	24
Florida	12	51
District of Columbia	6	18
Maryland	11	23
New York	47	4
New Jersey	9	8
Connecticut	7	2
Massachusetts	22	11
New Hampshire	3	58
Rhode Island	4	84
Maine	6	131

Economics subfields in California

Actuarial Science35

Agricultural Economics15

Development Studies94

Econometrics and Mathematical Economics54

Environmental Economics17

Finance76

International Economics25

International Relations and Diplomacy29

International Trade32

Investment Banking and Stock trading35