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2024 Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois

9 Colleges in Illinois
446 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
Public Administration is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #49 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 9 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 446 degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration School

Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois Your choice of public administration school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Public Administration School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Public Administration Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Public Admin
Master's Degrees in Public Admin
Doctor's Degrees in Public Admin

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Public Administration in Illinois

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the public admin degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Public Admin

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
75 Public Admin Degrees Awarded

Northwestern University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in public administration. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 75 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
71 Public Admin Degrees Awarded

It's hard to beat University of Illinois at Springfield if you wish to pursue a degree in public administration. Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, UIS is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 55th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 71 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UIS in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Illinois at Springfield

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL
55 Public Admin Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat University of Illinois at Chicago if you wish to pursue a degree in public administration. UIC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 55 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Illinois at Chicago

4
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In IL
50 Public Admin Degrees Awarded

It is difficult to beat DePaul University if you want to pursue a degree in public administration. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were approximately 50 public administration students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from DePaul University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL
37 Public Admin Degrees Awarded

Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 31st out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 37 public administration students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

6
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In IL
51.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #354 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Aurora is a great university overall.

There were about 29 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Aurora in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from Aurora University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IL
35 Public Admin Degrees Awarded

NIU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 24th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 35 public administration students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University

8
GSU crest
Governors State University
University Park, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In IL
68.4% Growth in Graduates

GSU is a small public university located in the rural area of University Park. This university ranks 66th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 19 public administration students who graduated with this degree at GSU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from Governors State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In IL
40.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 10 public administration students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In IL
20.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, NLU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #393 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NLU is a great university overall.

There were about 15 public administration students who graduated with this degree at NLU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from National Louis University

Best Public Administration Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Public Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 438
Michigan 915 380
Indiana 737 1,185
Wisconsin 672 91

View All Rankings >

Public Administration is one of 3 different types of Public Administration programs to choose from.

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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