2024 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts
Ranked #19 in popularity,
public administration is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 7 schools in Massachusetts to determine which ones were the best for public administration students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 508 master's degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Public Administration School for Your Master's Degree
The public admin master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on public administration students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of public administration students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt public administration students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized public administration related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for public administration students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Public Administration Schools
The public admin school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in Massachusetts.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Administration in Massachusetts
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public administration.
Top Massachusetts Schools for a Master's in Public Admin
Any student who is interested in a master's degree in public administration needs to take a look at Harvard University. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from Harvard University earn $34,119 more than the typical public admin graduate.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Harvard University
It is difficult to beat Anna Maria College if you want to pursue a master's degree in public administration. Anna Maria is a small private not-for-profit college located in the rural area of Paxton.
Public Administration master's degree recipients from Anna Maria College earn a boost of approximately $31,074 over the average earnings of public administration majors.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Anna Maria College
It is difficult to beat Boston University if you want to pursue a master's degree in public administration. Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Public Administration master's degree recipients from Boston University earn a boost of about $5,723 above the typical earnings of public administration majors.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Boston University
Suffolk University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public administration. Located in the city of Boston, Suffolk is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.
Master's students who receive their degree from the public admin program make an average of $63,995 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Suffolk University
Northeastern University is a wonderful option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in public administration. Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, public admin master's recipients typically make an average of $55,914 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Northeastern University