by our College Data Analytics TeamCollege Factual looked at 286 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 51,655 master's degrees in public administration & social service during the <nil> academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Your choice of public administration & social service for getting your master's degree school matters. 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:
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for public administration & social service students working on their master's degree.
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 & Social Service Master's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public administration & social service. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in public administration & social service. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Southern California
New York University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from New York University
It is difficult to beat University of Chicago if you wish to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Chicago
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in public administration & social service has to check out Duke University. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Duke University
UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of California - Berkeley
Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Northwestern University
Rutgers New Brunswick is a fairly large public university located in the city of New Brunswick.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Rutgers University - New Brunswick
Located in the large city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Fordham University
Syracuse is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Syracuse University
Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Simmons is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Simmons University
Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Loyola University Chicago
IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the small city of Bloomington.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Indiana University - Bloomington
Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Princeton.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Princeton University
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Ohio State University - Main Campus
Located in the city of Newark, Rutgers Newark is a public university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Rutgers University - Newark
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Cornell University
Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from The University of Texas at Austin
Located in the large city of New York, Baruch is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Baruch College
UMCP is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of College Park.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Maryland - College Park
Located in the city of Washington, CUA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Catholic University of America
Located in the large suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Aurora University
Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Wisconsin - Madison
This list represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 20% of the 286 different United States public administration & social service schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
| 52 | John Jay College of Criminal Justice | New York, NY |
| 53 | University of Oklahoma Norman Campus | Norman, OK |
| 54 | University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 55 | Wayne State University | Detroit, MI |
| 56 | Montclair State University | Montclair, NJ |
| 57 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN |
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 & Social Service Master's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Public Administration | 11,984 |
| Public Policy | 3,391 |
| Human Services | 873 |
| Community Organization & Advocacy | 478 |
| Other Public Administration | 222 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | 9,816 |
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