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

82 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,499 Bachelor's Degrees
$39,452 Avg Early-Career Salary
Public Administration & Social Service is about average in terms of popularity for bachelor's degrees programs. That is, it ranks #16 out of the 38 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

College Factual looked at 82 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,499 bachelor's degrees in public administration & social service during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of public administration & social service for getting your bachelor'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 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 bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor'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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for public administration & social service students working on their bachelor'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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’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 bachelor'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.

16 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Administration & Social Service

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
90 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Chicago if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from University of Chicago

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 Annual Graduates

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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
420 Annual Graduates

Indiana University - Bloomington is a great decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service. IU Bloomington is a very large public university located in the small city of Bloomington.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Indiana University - Bloomington

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
77 Annual Graduates

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service. U-M is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from University of Wisconsin - Madison

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
283 Annual Graduates

Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Columbus.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Ohio State University - Main Campus

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
63 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Loyola University Chicago

9
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, IL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
175 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Aurora University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
206 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

11
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

12
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
189 Annual Graduates

Central Michigan is a large public university located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Central Michigan University

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Annual Graduates

Wayne State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Detroit.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Wayne State University

14
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
63 Annual Graduates

UW - Whitewater is a large public university located in the distant town of Whitewater.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

15
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Michigan State University

16
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
147 Annual Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Allendale, GVSU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Grand Valley State University

Rest of the Top Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
17 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI
18 Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI
19 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
20 Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Marion, IN
21 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI
22 Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI
23 Ball State University Muncie, IN
24 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI
25 Illinois State University Normal, IL
26 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
27 Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Bowling Green, OH

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 35 1,481
Ohio 34 1,343
Illinois 34 1,170
Indiana 33 1,764
Wisconsin 31 738

View All Rankings >

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 752
Public Policy 304
Human Services 276
Community Organization & Advocacy 223
Other Public Administration 28

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

Related Major Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 7,752

Notes and References

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