A degree in public administration is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #60 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
College Factual reviewed 283 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of public administration. Combined, these schools handed out 16,905 degrees in public administration to qualified students.
The public admin program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for public administration schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
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 list to help you make the college decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
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Best Schools for Public Administration in the United States
The schools below may not offer all types of public admin degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student pursuing a degree in public administration needs to check out Johns Hopkins University. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were approximately 65 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University receive an earnings boost of approximately $33,434 over the average income of public administration majors.
Harvard University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in public administration. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.
There were approximately 193 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Those public administration students who get their degree from Harvard University receive $49,619 more than the typical public admin grad.
Every student pursuing a degree in public administration has to look into New York University. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were about 191 public administration students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from New York University receive $24,664 more than the standard public admin student.
Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 75 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Those public administration students who get their degree from Northwestern University earn $14,659 more than the typical public admin grad.
Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 8 colleges for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were approximately 175 public administration students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration program at American University earn $18,382 above the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 9th out of 143 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 281 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Syracuse in the most recent data year. After graduating, public admin degree recipients usually earn around $53,347 in their early careers.
Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 164 public administration students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration degree recipients from University of Southern California earn a boost of around $16,912 over the typical income of public administration majors.
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were roughly 374 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from Columbia University in the City of New York earn $22,849 more than the typical public admin graduate.
UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were approximately 59 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania receive an earnings boost of approximately $22,233 over the average earnings of public administration graduates.
Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means GWU is a great university overall.
There were about 67 public administration students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent data year. Those public administration students who get their degree from George Washington University make $20,644 more than the standard public admin student.
UW Seattle is a very large public university located in the city of Seattle. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.
There were roughly 170 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from University of Washington - Seattle Campus receive an earnings boost of about $6,815 above the average income of public administration graduates.
Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were approximately 757 public administration students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the public admin program earn an average of $48,474 in the first couple years of their career.
Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova. This university ranks 4th out of 117 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were about 114 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration degree program at Villanova University make $11,699 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were about 74 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from Cornell University receive an earnings boost of around $11,836 over the average income of public administration majors.
UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. This university ranks 1st out of 55 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were about 37 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year. Those public administration students who get their degree from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities make $31,882 more than the average public admin grad.
Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.
There were roughly 17 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from Carnegie Mellon University earn $9,377 more than the average public admin student.
Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. This university ranks 9th out of 117 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were about 72 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus receive $6,806 more than the standard public admin graduate.
Located in the large city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 51 schools for overall quality in the state of Washington.
There were approximately 48 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Seattle U in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration degree recipients from Seattle University receive an earnings boost of approximately $12,669 above the typical income of public administration majors.
Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg. A Best Colleges rank of #48 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Virginia Tech is a great school overall.
There were about 44 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration program at Virginia Tech get $8,018 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
USFCA is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco. This university ranks 20th out of 170 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 80 public administration students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from University of San Francisco get an earnings boost of around $24,673 over the typical income of public administration graduates.
Rutgers Newark is a large public university located in the large city of Newark. This university ranks 6th out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were approximately 139 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers Newark in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program make around $52,549 in their early career salary.
Located in the city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were roughly 107 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration major at University of Missouri - Columbia make $8,140 above the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 185 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program make around $41,546 in their early career salary.
Clemson is a very large public university located in the suburb of Clemson. This university ranks 1st out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.
There were approximately 45 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Clemson in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from Clemson University make $17,696 more than the standard public admin graduate.
Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the city of College Station. This university ranks 3rd out of 116 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 126 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the public admin program state that they receive average early career earnings of $53,305.
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 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
The public admin program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for public administration schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
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