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2025 Best Public Administration Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

8 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
752 Bachelor's Degrees
$42,172 Avg Early-Career Salary
Public Administration is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #103 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 8 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of public administration. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 752 bachelor'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 Bachelor's Degree

Best Public Administration Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region 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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges 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.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor'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

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

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Public Administration in the Great Lakes Region

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

Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Admin

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

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in public administration has to take a look at Indiana University - Bloomington. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Public Administration bachelor's degree recipients from Indiana University - Bloomington get an earnings boost of around $4,841 over the average earnings of public administration majors.

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

2
88 Annual Graduates
$41,650 Median Starting Salary
$18,226 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat Ohio State University - Main Campus if you wish to pursue 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.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program earn an average of $41,650 in the first couple years of their career.

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

3

It's hard to beat Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in public administration. IUPUI is a fairly large public university located in the city of Indianapolis.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the public admin program make around $43,110 in their early career salary.

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

4
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI

It's difficult to beat Central Michigan University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in public administration. Located in the town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public university with a large student population.

Public Administration bachelor's degree recipients from Central Michigan University earn a boost of about $4,129 above the typical earnings of public administration majors.

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

5
26 Annual Graduates
$36,236 Median Starting Salary
$21,960 Median Student Debt

GVSU is a very large public university located in the fringe town of Allendale.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public admin program report average early career wages of $36,236.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from Grand Valley State University

6

Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the public administration major at Miami University - Oxford make $3,106 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from Miami University - Oxford

7

UW - La Crosse is a large public university located in the small city of La Crosse.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the public admin program earn about $43,632 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

8

PFW is a moderately-sized public university located in the city of Fort Wayne.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public admin program report average early career income of $34,780.

More information about a bachelor’s in public administration from Purdue University Fort Wayne

Best Public Administration Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 123
Ohio 252 145
Illinois 241 6
Indiana 235 720
Wisconsin 213 45

View All Rankings >

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 752

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Policy 304
Human Services 276
Community Organization & Advocacy 223
Other Public Administration 28

Notes and References

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