Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools

126 Colleges
$55,530 Avg Salary
$25,500 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 126 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States

Check out the public administration and social service graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 15% Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Our 2023 rankings named Johns Hopkins University the best school in the United States for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read More…

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in the United States. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

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

#4

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of South Dakota helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in the United States. Located in the distant town of Vermillion, USD is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of South Dakota

#5

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Chicago Report

#6

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS

Kansas State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. K -State is a very large public school located in the small city of Manhattan.

Read More…

#7

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

University of North Dakota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. UND is a large public school located in the city of Grand Forks.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of North Dakota Report

#8

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Villanova.

Read More…

With a ranking of #9, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of Virginia - Main Campus

Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the midsize city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Texas A&M University - College Station Report

With a ranking of #11, Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the city of Mankato.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report

#12

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Virginia Tech

#13

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

With a ranking of #13, Clemson University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Clemson is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Clemson.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Clemson University Report

#14

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Pennsylvania Report

North Carolina State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #15 on the list. NC State is a very large public school located in the city of Raleigh.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at North Carolina State University Report

#16

New York University

New York, NY

New York University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at New York University

Colorado State University - Fort Collins ranked #17 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Colorado State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Fort Collins.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Colorado State University - Fort Collins

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. 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

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 Graduate Certificate Schools award.

Rank College Location
19 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
20 California University of Pennsylvania California, PA
21 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
22 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
23 Montclair State University Montclair, NJ
24 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
25 Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL

Public Administration & Social Service by Region

View the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.