2025 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
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 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 27 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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 1,250 master's degrees in public administration during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Public Administration School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of public administration for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality public admin program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
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
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to public administration students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other public administration students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for public administration to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized public administration related body.
Our full 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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 the Great Lakes Region.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Administration in the Great Lakes Region
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public administration.
10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Public Admin
It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in public administration. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston.
Master's recipients from the public administration program at Northwestern University make $14,345 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Northwestern University
Indiana University - Bloomington is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in public administration. IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the city of Bloomington.
Students who graduate with their master's from the public admin program report average early career income of $57,990.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Indiana University - Bloomington
Ohio State University - Main Campus is a great choice for students interested in a master's degree in public administration. Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus.
Students who graduate with their master's from the public admin program report average early career income of $58,937.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Ohio State University - Main Campus
It's hard to beat Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis if you wish to pursue a master's degree in public administration. Located in the large city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public university with a very large student population.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis make $7,121 more than the typical public admin grad.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
Central Michigan is a large public university located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant.
Master's recipients from the public administration major at Central Michigan University make $8,318 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Central Michigan University
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