2025 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina
If you pursue a master's degree in
public administration, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #19 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 9 schools in North Carolina 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 317 master's degrees in public administration during the 2022-2023 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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
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 account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for public administration students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Public Administration Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Administration in North Carolina
Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for public administration students seeking a a master's degree.
Top North Carolina Schools for a Master's in Public Admin
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a wonderful option for students pursuing a master's degree in public administration. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the public administration program at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill get $14,268 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in public administration from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
North Carolina State University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a master's degree in public administration. Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, public admin master's recipients generally make about $51,393 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a master’s in public administration from North Carolina State University
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in public administration has to look into University of North Carolina at Charlotte. UNC Charlotte is a very large public university located in the city of Charlotte.
Public Administration master's degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Charlotte get an earnings boost of around $6,845 above the average earnings of public administration majors.
More information about a master’s in public administration from University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in public administration needs to check out Appalachian State University. Appalachian State is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Boone.
Soon after graduation, public admin master's recipients generally earn an average of $46,655 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Appalachian State University
Located in the town of Cullowhee, WCU is a public university with a large student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the public admin program report average early career wages of $52,126.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Western Carolina University
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