Public Administration at California State University-San Bernardino

Cal State San Bernardino's Public Administration program ranks in the bottom 10% among California public administration programs, with year-four earnings of $50,540 falling significantly below the state median of $55,487. Among the 14 California schools offering this degree, only one performs worse—particularly striking when compared to other CSU campuses like Northridge ($76,049) and Dominguez Hills ($45,471). The relatively low debt of $13,300 is the program's main strength, though this advantage becomes less meaningful when graduates earn $26,000 less at year four than they would from top-performing CSU alternatives.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) makes these numbers somewhat uncertain, but the 37% earnings growth from year one to year four suggests graduates do advance in their careers over time. Still, that trajectory starts from $36,969—about $8,300 below the national median for public administration programs. For students who can access other CSU campuses or California programs with better placement records in government and nonprofit sectors, those options appear substantially stronger from a pure return-on-investment perspective.

For families committed to San Bernardino due to location or other factors, the low debt load means graduates won't face crushing payments. However, parents should understand their student will likely need to be strategic about building experience and networking to reach earnings levels that other California public administration programs deliver more consistently.