43 Best Public Policy / Administration schools 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 Public Policy / Administration. A graph of 468K citations received by 18.6K 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 Public Policy / Administration

#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 Public Policy / Administration

#2 in the United States

#2 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 Public Policy / Administration

#16 in the United States

#17 in North America

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

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Public Policy / Administration

#20 in the United States

#21 in North America

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

5. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Public Policy / Administration

#33 in the United States

#35 in North America

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

6. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Public Policy / Administration

#47 in the United States

#50 in North America

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

7. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Public Policy / Administration

#53 in the United States

#60 in North America

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

8. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Public Policy / Administration

#64 in the United States

#73 in North America

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

9. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Public Policy / Administration

#91 in the United States

#106 in North America

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

10. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Public Policy / Administration

#124 in the United States

#142 in North America

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

11. John F. Kennedy University

Pleasant Hill

For Public Policy / Administration

#128 in the United States

#146 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Founded: 1964

12. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Public Policy / Administration

#135 in the United States

#154 in North America

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

13. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Public Policy / Administration

#141 in the United States

#160 in North America

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

14. Naval Postgraduate School

Monterey

For Public Policy / Administration

#142 in the United States

#161 in North America

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

15. Claremont Graduate University

Claremont

For Public Policy / Administration

#161 in the United States

#185 in North America

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

16. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Public Policy / Administration

#169 in the United States

#194 in North America

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

17. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Public Policy / Administration

#172 in the United States

#197 in North America

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

18. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Public Policy / Administration

#176 in the United States

#201 in North America

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

19. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Public Policy / Administration

#185 in the United States

#210 in North America

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

20. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Public Policy / Administration

#194 in the United States

#219 in North America

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

21. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Public Policy / Administration

#196 in the United States

#221 in North America

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

22. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Public Policy / Administration

#225 in the United States

#253 in North America

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

23. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Public Policy / Administration

#240 in the United States

#268 in North America

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

24. Pepperdine University

Malibu

For Public Policy / Administration

#242 in the United States

#271 in North America

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

25. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Public Policy / Administration

#252 in the United States

#283 in North America

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

26. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Public Policy / Administration

#258 in the United States

#289 in North America

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

27. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Public Policy / Administration

#279 in the United States

#310 in North America

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

28. Chapman University

Orange

For Public Policy / Administration

#283 in the United States

#314 in North America

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

29. California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino

For Public Policy / Administration

#286 in the United States

#318 in North America

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

30. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Public Policy / Administration

#297 in the United States

#331 in North America

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

31. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Public Policy / Administration

#304 in the United States

#338 in North America

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

32. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Public Policy / Administration

#310 in the United States

#345 in North America

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

33. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Public Policy / Administration

#324 in the United States

#360 in North America

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

34. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Public Policy / Administration

#345 in the United States

#382 in North America

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

35. Claremont McKenna College

Claremont

For Public Policy / Administration

#347 in the United States

#384 in North America

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

36. University of the Pacific

Stockton

For Public Policy / Administration

#357 in the United States

#395 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 1272
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $28,164

37. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Public Policy / Administration

#385 in the United States

#425 in North America

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

38. Occidental College

Los Angeles

For Public Policy / Administration

#396 in the United States

#436 in North America

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

39. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Public Policy / Administration

#407 in the United States

#447 in North America

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

40. Golden Gate University - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Public Policy / Administration

#408 in the United States

#448 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Enrollment: 2,661
Male:Female: 55:45
Founded: 1901

41. California State University - East Bay

Hayward

For Public Policy / Administration

#417 in the United States

#459 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $8,659
Enrollment: 13,673

42. Pomona College

Claremont

For Public Policy / Administration

#433 in the United States

#477 in North America

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

43. California State University Maritime Academy

Vallejo

For Public Policy / Administration

#460 in the United States

#507 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $9,529
Enrollment: 849

Closest to California states to learn Public Policy / Administration

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	7	102
Utah	3	67
Arizona	3	18
Idaho	3	181
Washington	6	9
Colorado	9	59
Nebraska	4	90
South Dakota	3	249
Kansas	5	55
Texas	26	43
Oklahoma	4	71
North Dakota	2	223
Minnesota	9	25
Iowa	4	60
Missouri	6	13
Arkansas	6	129
Louisiana	6	110
Wisconsin	9	12
Illinois	19	10
Mississippi	5	179
Indiana	10	32
Michigan	9	3
Tennessee	10	49
Alabama	7	127
Kentucky	6	56
Ohio	15	15
Georgia	12	44
South Carolina	8	7
North Carolina	15	8
Virginia	14	29
Pennsylvania	21	19
Florida	16	37
District of Columbia	6	21
Maryland	10	11
New York	52	6
New Jersey	8	26
Connecticut	8	5
Massachusetts	25	4
New Hampshire	3	77
Rhode Island	4	106
Maine	6	213