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2024 Best Public Administration Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

40 Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
3,399 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$55,633 Avg Early-Career Salary
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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 40 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Administration Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,399 degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration School

Best Public Administration Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region 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.

Public Administration Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Public Admin
Bachelor's Degrees in Public Admin
Master's Degrees in Public Admin
Doctor's Degrees in Public Admin

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Public Administration Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Public Administration in the Middle Atlantic Region

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.

10 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools in Public Admin

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
191 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$76,016 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in public administration needs to take a look at 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 #27 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 191 public administration students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration degree program at New York University make $20,383 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration from New York University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
374 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$74,201 Median Starting Salary

Columbia University in the City of New York is a good option for students pursuing a degree in public administration. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges 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 $18,568 more than the typical public admin grad.

More information about a degree in public administration from Columbia University in the City of New York

3
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$73,585 Median Starting Salary

University of Pennsylvania is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in public administration. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were about 59 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania receive an earnings boost of approximately $17,952 over the average income of public administration majors.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Pennsylvania

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
65 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
16.9% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested 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 fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.

There were roughly 65 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration degree program at Johns Hopkins University get $29,153 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration from Johns Hopkins University

5
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
175 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
5.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #129 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means The American University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 175 public administration students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration degree recipients from American University receive an earnings boost of approximately $14,101 over the average income of public administration majors.

More information about a degree in public administration from American University

6
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$63,051 Median Starting Salary

Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Villanova is a great university overall.

There were approximately 114 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from Villanova University receive an earnings boost of about $7,418 over the average earnings of public administration majors.

More information about a degree in public administration from Villanova University

7
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
281 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
7.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 12th out of 142 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 graduation, public admin degree recipients usually earn an average of $53,347 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in public administration from Syracuse University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$63,188 Median Starting Salary

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 #22 out of 2,217 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 year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration degree program at Cornell University make $7,555 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration from Cornell University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$60,729 Median Starting Salary

Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were about 17 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration degree program at Carnegie Mellon University earn $5,096 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration from Carnegie Mellon University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
139 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$52,549 Median Starting Salary

Rutgers Newark is a large public university located in the city of Newark. This university ranks 6th out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were roughly 139 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers Newark in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program make about $52,549 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in public administration from Rutgers University - Newark

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
Pennsylvania 334 405
New York 333 1,826
Maryland 279 240
New Jersey 273 348
District of Columbia 188 288
Delaware 175 29

View All Rankings >

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

Public Admin Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 3,399

View All Public Admin Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Human Services 2,686
Public Policy 1,628
Community Organization & Advocacy 891
Other Public Administration 158

View All Public Admin Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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