Public Administration is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #19 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.
College Factual looked at 250 colleges and universities when compiling its 2023 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 12,290 master's degrees in public administration to qualified students.
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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
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 Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
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.
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.
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Featured Public Administration Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
Fit new strategic skills into your public service passion and goals when you earn an MBA in Public Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Administration in the United States
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public administration. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Any student who is interested in a master's degree in public administration has to take a look at Johns Hopkins University. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from Johns Hopkins University earn $32,058 more than the average public admin grad.
It is hard to beat Harvard University if you want to pursue a master's degree in public administration. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Cambridge.
Public Administration master's degree recipients from Harvard University receive an earnings boost of approximately $48,243 over the typical income of public administration graduates.
New York University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public administration. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Public Administration master's degree recipients from New York University earn a boost of about $23,288 above the typical earnings of public administration majors.
Northwestern University is a great choice for individuals pursuing a master's degree in public administration. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from Northwestern University make $13,283 more than the standard public admin student.
Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse.
Public Administration master's degree recipients from Syracuse University earn a boost of about $5,948 above the average earnings of public administration majors.
USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from University of Southern California earn $15,536 more than the typical public admin student.
Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from Columbia University in the City of New York earn $21,473 more than the standard public admin grad.
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Public Administration master's degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania receive an earnings boost of about $20,857 above the typical earnings of public administration majors.
GWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.
Public Administration master's degree recipients from George Washington University get an earnings boost of about $19,268 over the average earnings of public administration majors.
Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the public administration major at University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $5,439 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the public administration degree program at Villanova University earn $10,323 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca.
Master's recipients from the public administration degree program at Cornell University get $10,460 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities earn $30,506 more than the standard public admin grad.
Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University receive $8,001 more than the standard public admin student.
Seattle U is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Seattle.
Master's recipients from the public administration program at Seattle University make $11,293 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Those public administration students who get their master's degree from University of San Francisco earn $23,297 more than the standard public admin student.
Mizzou is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Columbia.
Master's recipients from the public administration program at University of Missouri - Columbia make $7,485 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
GMU is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Fairfax.
Master's recipients from the public administration program at George Mason University get $13,754 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Here are some additional great schools for Public Administration students that almost earned our Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
college factual
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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
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