2023 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Public Administration Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 13,571 people earned a degree or certificate in public administration, making the major the #23 most popular in the United States.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 276 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the public admin master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Public Administration
Our 2023 rankings named Harvard University the best school in the United States for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Johns Hopkins University is a great place for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.
Full Public Administration at Johns Hopkins University Report
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of South Dakota is a great place for public administration students working on their master’s degree. USD is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration schools in the United States. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Public Administration at Northwestern University
The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration schools in the United States. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Cornell University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Georgetown University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration programs. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.
Full Public Administration at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report
San Jose State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.
University of Southern California ranked #10 on this year’s Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Full Public Administration at University of Southern California Report
University of San Francisco did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.
Full Public Administration at University of San Francisco Report
With a ranking of #12, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Clemson University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public college with a very large student population.
New York University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Read full report on Public Administration at New York University
Villanova University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
George Washington University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration programs. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.
American University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Kansas State University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Manhattan, K -State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full Public Administration at Kansas State University Report
Golden Gate University - San Francisco ranked #19 on this year’s Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.
Full Public Administration at Carnegie Mellon University Report
Virginia Tech came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.
Metropolitan State University landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Metro State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Full Public Administration at Metropolitan State University Report
With a ranking of #23, Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a large student population.
Read full report on Public Administration at Minnesota State University - Mankato
Boston University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Public Administration at Boston University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public school with a very large student population.
Full Public Administration at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report
Rest of the Top Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Public Administration students that almost earned our Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 42 | Hamline University | Saint Paul, MN |
| 43 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 44 | Saginaw Valley State University | University Center, MI |
| 45 | California State University - Bakersfield | Bakersfield, CA |
| 46 | California State University - Fresno | Fresno, CA |
| 47 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Denver, CO |
| 48 | Alfred University | Alfred, NY |
| 49 | Indiana University - Bloomington | Bloomington, IN |
| 50 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 51 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 52 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 53 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 54 | California Baptist University | Riverside, CA |
| 55 | National University | La Jolla, CA |
Public Administration by Region
View the Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Public Administration Rankings
Public Administration Related Rankings by Major
Public Administration is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Social Work | 33,631 |
| Public Policy | 3,737 |
| Human Services | 1,277 |
| Community Organization & Advocacy | 741 |
| Other Public Administration | 295 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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