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2025 Best Public Administration Bachelor's Degree Schools

48 Colleges in the United States
2,383 Bachelor's Degrees
$49,353 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in public administration, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #103 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 48 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for public administration students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,383 bachelor's degrees in public administration during the <nil> academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Public Administration School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Public Administration Bachelor's Degree Schools The public admin bachelor'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 bachelor'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 ranking which itself looks at a collection of various 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 bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor'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.

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 bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Public Administration Schools

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Administration Bachelor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’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 bachelor's degree in public administration.

10 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Admin

1
420 Annual Graduates
$47,013 Median Starting Salary
$35,066 Median Student Debt

Indiana University - Bloomington is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in public administration. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program earn around $47,013 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from Indiana University - Bloomington

2
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
88 Annual Graduates
$53,912 Median Starting Salary
$45,262 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat Syracuse University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in public administration. Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Those public administration students who get their bachelor's degree from Syracuse University earn $4,559 more than the average public admin graduate.

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

3
88 Annual Graduates
$41,650 Median Starting Salary
$18,226 Median Student Debt

Ohio State University - Main Campus is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in public administration. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public admin program report average early career income of $41,650.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from Ohio State University - Main Campus

4

California State University - Northridge is a good decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in public administration. CSUN is a very large public university located in the large city of Northridge.

Public Administration bachelor's degree recipients from California State University - Northridge earn a boost of about $26,696 above the average income of public administration majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from California State University - Northridge

5

Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the public administration major at George Mason University get $7,321 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from George Mason University

6
JMU crest
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA
56 Annual Graduates
$48,396 Median Starting Salary
$34,186 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, public admin bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $48,396 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from James Madison University

7

Cal Baptist is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Riverside.

Bachelor's recipients from the public administration program at California Baptist University get $19,329 more than the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from California Baptist University

8

Located in the city of Eugene, UO is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public admin program report average early career income of $39,365.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from University of Oregon

9

IUPUI is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Indianapolis.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public admin program report average early career income of $43,110.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

10

Located in the suburb of Miami, FIU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program earn about $46,281 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from Florida International University

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Public Administration Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
12 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI
13 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
14 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD
15 Liberty University Lynchburg, VA
16 University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND

Public Administration by Region

View the Best Public Administration Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 4 majors within the Public Administration & Social Service area of study, Public Administration has other similar majors worth exploring.

Public Admin Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 2,383

Related Major Annual Graduates
Human Services 5,919
Public Policy 2,471
Community Organization & Advocacy 1,553
Other Public Administration 183

Notes and References

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