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2023 Best Public & Social Service Doctor's Degree Schools

117 Colleges
$69,877 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Doctor's Degree School for You

Public Administration & Social Service is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 6th of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 53,252 degrees and certificates were awarded to students with this major.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Public & Social Service Doctor's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 117 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs 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.

2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for public administration and social service majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Top 15% Best Public Administration & Social Service Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Our 2023 rankings named Harvard University the best school in the United States for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Harvard University

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of California - Berkeley Report

#3

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Out of the 117 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Princeton University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Princeton University

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Southern California is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Southern California Report

#5

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Out of the 117 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Cornell University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.

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#6

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #6, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

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#7

Duke University

Durham, NC

With a ranking of #7, Duke University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

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#8

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Loma Linda.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Loma Linda University Report

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of California - Los Angeles Report

University of St Thomas Minnesota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, UST MN is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read More…

#11

New York University

New York, NY

New York University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at New York University Report

#12

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at George Washington University Report

West Chester University of Pennsylvania landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public college with a large student population.

Read More…

#14

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Carnegie Mellon University

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #15 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report

#16

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

With a ranking of #16, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Chicago Report

#17

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

With a ranking of #17, Clemson University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. Clemson is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Clemson.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Clemson University Report

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 & Social Service Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
18 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
19 Capella University Minneapolis, MN
20 California Baptist University Riverside, CA
21 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
22 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
23 George Mason University Fairfax, VA

Public Administration & Social Service by Region

View the Best Public & Social Service Doctor'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

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 33,631
Public Administration 13,571
Public Policy 3,737
Human Services 1,277
Community Organization & Advocacy 741
Other Public Administration 295

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

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 University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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