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2025 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

19 Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
2,775 Master's Degrees
$65,362 Avg Early-Career Salary
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.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 19 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,775 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

Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region 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:

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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Admin Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Administration in the Middle Atlantic Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public administration.

10 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for a Master's in Public Admin

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

New York University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public administration. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Public Administration master's degree recipients from New York University receive an earnings boost of about $17,525 above the average earnings of public administration graduates.

More information about a master’s in public administration from New York University

2
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Syracuse University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in public administration. Syracuse is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse.

Those public administration students who get their master's degree from Syracuse University receive $17,426 more than the standard public admin student.

More information about a master’s in public administration from Syracuse University

3

Rutgers University - Newark is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public administration. Located in the city of Newark, Rutgers Newark is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the public admin program make an average of $58,428 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in public administration from Rutgers University - Newark

4

Cornell University is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in a master's degree in public administration. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca.

Master's students who receive their degree from the public admin program earn around $61,190 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a master’s in public administration from Cornell University

5
Baruch crest
Baruch College
New York, NY

Located in the large city of New York, Baruch is a public college with a large student population.

Public Administration master's degree recipients from Baruch College earn a boost of around $14,035 above the typical income of public administration majors.

More information about a master’s in public administration from Baruch College

6

Located in the medium-sized city of Albany, UAlbany is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the public admin program state that they receive average early career earnings of $62,076.

More information about a master’s in public administration from University at Albany

7
51 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

8

Located in the city of New York, John Jay is a public college with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the public admin program report average early career income of $66,464.

More information about a master’s in public administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice

9
Marist crest
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, NY

Located in the suburb of Poughkeepsie, Marist is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Those public administration students who get their master's degree from Marist College receive $19,350 more than the typical public admin grad.

More information about a master’s in public administration from Marist College

10

Rutgers Camden is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Camden.

Master's students who receive their degree from the public admin program earn around $58,428 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a master’s in public administration from Rutgers University - Camden

Best Public Administration Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 261 1,556
Pennsylvania 248 360
Maryland 193 149
New Jersey 188 313
District of Columbia 154 283
Delaware 109 29

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Public Administration is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Admin Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 2,775

Majors Similar to Public Admin

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Policy 929
Human Services 88
Community Organization & Advocacy 41
Other Public Administration 34

Notes and References

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