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2024 Best Public Administration Schools in the Southeast Region

86 Colleges in the Southeast Region
3,743 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$46,873 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in public administration, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #60 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 86 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Public Administration Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,743 degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration School

Best Public Administration Schools in the Southeast Region Your choice of public administration school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Public Administration School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Public Administration Degree Level

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 Southeast Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Public Administration in the Southeast Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the public admin degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

12 Top Southeast Region Schools in Public Admin

1
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
44 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$59,370 Median Starting Salary

Virginia Tech is a great choice for students interested in a degree in public administration. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #62 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Virginia Tech is a great school overall.

There were approximately 44 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from Virginia Tech get an earnings boost of approximately $12,497 above the typical income of public administration majors.

More information about a degree in public administration from Virginia Tech

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
118 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
27.1% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in public administration needs to check out George Mason University. GMU is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Fairfax. A Best Colleges rank of #117 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means GMU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 118 public administration students who graduated with this degree at GMU in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from George Mason University earn $6,045 more than the standard public admin student.

More information about a degree in public administration from George Mason University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
262 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
5.3% Growth in Graduates

Florida International University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in public administration. FIU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Miami. A Best Colleges rank of #183 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means FIU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 262 public administration students who graduated with this degree at FIU in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from Florida International University earn a boost of approximately $4,402 above the average income of public administration majors.

More information about a degree in public administration from Florida International University

4
Clemson crest
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
45 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$69,048 Median Starting Salary

Clemson University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in public administration. Located in the large suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #107 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Clemson is a great university overall.

There were roughly 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 receive $22,175 more than the average public admin grad.

More information about a degree in public administration from Clemson University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
81 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
16.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #72 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UGA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 81 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year. After graduation, public admin degree recipients usually earn an average of $47,593 in their early careers.

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

6
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
21.7% Growth in Graduates

Auburn is a fairly large public university located in the city of Auburn. A Best Colleges rank of #154 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Auburn is a great university overall.

There were roughly 60 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Auburn in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the public admin program make an average of $35,723 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in public administration from Auburn University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$57,005 Median Starting Salary

UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the small city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #43 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.

There were about 60 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earn $10,132 more than the typical public admin student.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
41 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$52,610 Median Starting Salary

NC State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Raleigh. A Best Colleges rank of #92 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 41 public administration students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from North Carolina State University receive an earnings boost of around $5,737 over the average income of public administration graduates.

More information about a degree in public administration from North Carolina State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
129 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$57,300 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Orange Beach, Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #114 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia Southern University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 129 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Columbia Southern University in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration degree program at Columbia Southern University make $10,427 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration from Columbia Southern University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
222 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
20.7% Growth in Graduates

UCF is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Orlando. A Best Colleges rank of #193 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCF is a great university overall.

There were approximately 222 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UCF in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the public admin program report average early career earnings of $40,012.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Central Florida

11
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
28.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #121 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Florida State is a great university overall.

There were about 59 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Florida State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration major at Florida State University earn $4,172 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration from Florida State University

12
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
25.6% Growth in Graduates

WCU is a fairly large public university located in the town of Cullowhee. This university ranks 17th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 86 public administration students who graduated with this degree at WCU in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from Western Carolina University make $2,023 more than the standard public admin grad.

More information about a degree in public administration from Western Carolina University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Public Administration students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Best Public Administration Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Barry University Miami, FL
14 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
15 Liberty University Lynchburg, VA
16 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
17 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
18 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
19 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL
20 Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS
21 Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA

Best Public Administration Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 399
Florida 282 926
North Carolina 279 436
Virginia 274 523
Tennessee 269 81
South Carolina 248 83
Kentucky 244 118
Louisiana 242 121
Mississippi 234 80
Arkansas 234 179
Alabama 233 358
West Virginia 207 132

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 Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 3,743

View All Public Admin Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Human Services 2,801
Public Policy 1,260
Community Organization & Advocacy 286
Other Public Administration 127

View All Public Admin Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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