Public & Social Service

Types of Degrees Public & Social Service Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many public administration and social service graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	49,660
Graduate Certificate	2,152
Doctor’s Degree	1,440

What Public & Social Service Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, public administration and social service majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Public Administration & Social Service Majors

Public Administration and Social Service majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Skills for Public Administration & Social Service Majors

public administration and social service majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Public Administration & Social Service Majors

Public Administration and Social Service majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Public & Social Service Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with public administration and social service:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	14.2%	$46,270
Community and Social Service Specialists	13.2%	$42,620
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Counselors	14.2%	$42,130
Education Professors	10.3%	$64,780
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Healthcare Social Workers	20.1%	$56,200
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Legislators	7.0%	$24,670
Logistics Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Marriage and Family Therapists	23.4%	$50,090
Medical and Health Services Managers	20.5%	$99,730
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	19.4%	$44,840
Political Science Professors	10.4%	$83,370
Political Scientists	2.7%	$117,570
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists	5.7%	$53,020
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Social and Community Service Managers	18.0%	$65,320
Social and Human Service Assistants	16.4%	$33,750
Social Work Professors	9.4%	$68,300
Social Workers	8.3%	$63,140
Supply Chain Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Transportation Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Transportation Planners	6.7%	$81,340

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Public & Social Service?

This major is dominated by women with about 79% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of public administration and social service majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,809
Black or African American	9,106
Hispanic or Latino	7,966
White	24,405
International Students	2,162
Other Races/Ethnicities	4,212

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Public Administration & Social Service, too. About 4.4% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Public & Social Service Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in public administration and social service made a median starting salary of $46,107 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $41,972 (25th percentile) and $52,549 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to public administration and social service so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $49,630 to $102,850 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to public administration and social service. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Public & Social Service

Some careers associated with public administration and social service require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for public administration and social service careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	8.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.6%
Some College Courses	3.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	35.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.0%
Master’s Degree	21.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	4.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.3%
Doctoral Degree	13.9%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.1%

Online Public & Social Service Programs

In 2020-2021, 1,447 schools offered a public administration and social service program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	130	19
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	1
Associate’s Degree	510	64
Bachelor’s Degree	281	65
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	952	222
Post-Master’s	56	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	206	14
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	12	3
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	1

Is a Degree in Public & Social Service Worth It?

The median salary for a public administration and social service grad is $71,670 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 80% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $635,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Public & Social Service

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to public administration and social service.

Major	Number of Grads
Legal Professions	45,189
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting	13,045
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies	10,452
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences	1,613

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By University of the Fraser Valley under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.