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2025 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

52 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
7,231 Master's Degrees
$55,019 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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 52 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for public administration & social service students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 7,231 master's degrees in public administration & social service during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The public administration & social service master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality public administration & social service program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

The public administration & social service school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Administration & Social Service in the Great Lakes Region

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.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Public Administration & Social Service

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
187 Annual Graduates

University of Chicago is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in public administration & social service. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Chicago

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
97 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Northwestern University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
442 Annual Graduates

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

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
233 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you want to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Indiana University - Bloomington

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
532 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
565 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Ohio State University - Main Campus

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
197 Annual Graduates

UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

8
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, IL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
603 Annual Graduates

Aurora is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Aurora.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Aurora University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
163 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Wisconsin - Madison

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
503 Annual Graduates

IUPUI is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Indianapolis.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

Honorable Mentions

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 in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
12 Wayne State University Detroit, MI
13 Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Marion, IN
14 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI
15 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
16 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
17 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration & social service schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Illinois 34 2,499
Indiana 33 1,296
Ohio 32 1,320
Michigan 31 1,728
Wisconsin 31 521

View All Rankings >

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 1,250
Public Policy 244
Human Services 172
Community Organization & Advocacy 107
Other Public Administration 27

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

Related Major Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 1,605

Notes and References

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