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2024 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

399 Colleges in the United States
49,660 Master's Degrees
$48,536 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your master's degree in public administration & social service, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #5 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 reviewed 399 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of public administration & social service. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 49,660 master's degrees in public administration & social service during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Public Administration & Social Service School for Your Master's Degree

Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools 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:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 Salaries

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.

Other Factors We Consider

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.

More Ways to Rank Public Administration & Social Service Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Administration & Social Service Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Administration & Social Service in the United States

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 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools for a Master's in Public Administration & Social Service

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
425 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Chicago if you want 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 large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Chicago

2
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
365 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Harvard University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cambridge.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Harvard University

3
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
97 Annual Graduates

Princeton University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public administration & social service. 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

4
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in public administration & social service has to look into Duke University. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Duke University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
194 Annual Graduates

UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of California - Berkeley

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,182 Annual Graduates

USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Southern California

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
861 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of New York, Columbia 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 Columbia University in the City of New York

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
100 Annual Graduates

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

9
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
692 Annual Graduates

Located in the 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

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
79 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Carnegie Mellon University

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
411 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Baltimore, UMB is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Maryland - Baltimore

12
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Brown University

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
291 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL 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 Washington University in St Louis

14
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
222 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn 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 Pennsylvania

15
Yeshiva crest
Yeshiva University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
231 Annual Graduates

Yeshiva is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Yeshiva University

16
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
331 Annual Graduates

Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Boston University

17
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
98 Annual Graduates

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

18
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
52 Annual Graduates

Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Baltimore.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Johns Hopkins University

19
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
157 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of California - Los Angeles

20
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
552 Annual Graduates

U-M is a very large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

21
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
509 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Denver, DU 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 Denver

22
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova 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 Villanova University

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
734 Annual Graduates

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

24
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
254 Annual Graduates

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

25
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
438 Annual Graduates

Ohio State is a fairly 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

Rest of the Top Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

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27
28
29
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
30
31
32

33

34
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
35
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
36
37
38
39
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
40
41

42

43
44
45
Hunter crest
Hunter College
New York, NY
45
Trinity Bantams crest
Trinity College
Hartford, CT
46
47
48
49

Remaining Award Winners

This section 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 15% of the 399 different United States public administration & social service schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
50 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
51 Baruch College New York, NY
52 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
53 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
54 Florida International University Miami, FL
55 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
56 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
57 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
58 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
59 Seattle University Seattle, WA

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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.

Rank College Location
60 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
61 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
62 Widener University Chester, PA
63 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
64 The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX
65 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
66 Aurora University Aurora, IL
67 University of Georgia Athens, GA
68 Clemson University Clemson, SC
69 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
70 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
71 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
72 Walden University Minneapolis, MN
72 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
73 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
74 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
75 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Norman, OK
76 Baylor University Waco, TX
77 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
78 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Knoxville, TN
79 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA

Public Administration & Social Service by Region

View the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 12,290
Public Policy 3,153
Human Services 1,153
Community Organization & Advocacy 633
Other Public Administration 213

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

Related Major Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 9,894

Notes and References

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