2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools
597Colleges in the United States
98,583Public Administration & Social Service Degrees Awarded
$40,520Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in public administration and social service is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #14 out of 38 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.
College Factual looked at 597 colleges and universities when compiling its 2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 98,583 degrees in public administration and social service to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Public Administration & Social Service School
The public administration and social service program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration & Social Service rankings. For our Best Overall Public Administration & Social Service School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Public Administration & Social Service Rankings by Degree Level
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools 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.
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Improve the lives of individuals, families and communities with the human service tools gained from this online bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
Prepare yourself to make the decisions that best serve a community, its constituents and its economic growth with this specialized business degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
Best Schools for Public Administration & Social Service in the United States
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 administration and social service 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.
25 Top Schools in Public Administration & Social Service
It's hard to beat Duke University if you want to pursue a degree in public administration and social service. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 269 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service major at Duke University get $18,998 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
University of Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration and social service. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 586 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from University of Chicago earn a boost of about $15,181 over the typical income of public administration and social service graduates.
It's difficult to beat Harvard University if you want to pursue a degree in public administration and social service. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.
There were about 386 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from Harvard University receive an earnings boost of about $48,403 over the average earnings of public administration and social service graduates.
Every student who is interested in public administration and social service has to look into Princeton University. Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Princeton. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Princeton is a great university overall.
There were about 221 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent data year. Those public administration and social service students who get their degree from Princeton University make $22,300 more than the standard public administration and social service graduate.
UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were roughly 311 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service major at University of California - Berkeley make $21,044 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Baltimore. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were about 65 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service program at Johns Hopkins University earn $37,033 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 229 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from Northwestern University earn a boost of approximately $31,351 over the typical income of public administration and social service majors.
USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 4th out of 170 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 1466 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration and social service students who get their degree from University of Southern California earn $33,666 more than the typical public administration and social service grad.
Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.
There were about 127 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration and social service students who get their degree from Brown University receive $13,898 more than the standard public administration and social service grad.
Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 143 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 777 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service major at New York University make $19,730 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.
There were about 92 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service degree program at Carnegie Mellon University earn $22,202 above the standard graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Ithaca. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were about 152 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from Cornell University get an earnings boost of approximately $24,056 over the typical earnings of public administration and social service graduates.
Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were about 876 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Those public administration and social service students who get their degree from Columbia University in the City of New York receive $22,528 more than the standard public administration and social service graduate.
Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.
There were about 296 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, public administration and social service degree recipients generally earn about $42,327 in their early careers.
Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. This university ranks 5th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 343 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year. Those public administration and social service students who get their degree from Boston University make $10,790 more than the average public administration and social service student.
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were roughly 270 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania earn a boost of approximately $24,864 above the average income of public administration and social service majors.
Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 8 colleges for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were approximately 208 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from Georgetown University get an earnings boost of around $30,225 over the typical income of public administration and social service graduates.
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. This university ranks 1st out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were roughly 674 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn a boost of about $8,153 above the average earnings of public administration and social service majors.
GWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. This university ranks 2nd out of 8 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were roughly 152 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service major at George Washington University get $31,066 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
The American University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington. This university ranks 3rd out of 8 colleges for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were approximately 225 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service major at American University get $24,001 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Baltimore, UMB is a public university with a medium-sized student population.
There were roughly 417 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at UMB in the most recent data year. Those public administration and social service students who get their degree from University of Maryland - Baltimore earn $9,776 more than the average public administration and social service student.
UMCP is a very large public university located in the suburb of College Park. This university ranks 2nd out of 34 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were approximately 235 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service degree program at University of Maryland - College Park make $20,715 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 51 schools for overall quality in the state of Washington.
There were roughly 340 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service major at University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $7,886 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 117 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were approximately 114 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration and social service major at Villanova University make $22,531 more than the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Rutgers New Brunswick is a very large public university located in the small city of New Brunswick. This university ranks 3rd out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were approximately 834 public administration and social service students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers New Brunswick in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration & Social Service degree recipients from Rutgers University - New Brunswick earn a boost of approximately $8,344 over the average earnings of public administration and social service graduates.
This section represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 597 different United States public administration and social service schools we analyzed.
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 Schools award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
college factual
The public administration and social service program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration & Social Service rankings. For our Best Overall Public Administration & Social Service School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
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