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Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate School for You

In 2020-2021, 53,252 public administration and social service students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #6 most popular in the country.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 14 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

Our 2023 rankings named University of South Dakota the best school in the Plains States Region for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the distant town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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

#2

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Kansas State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in the Plains States Region . K -State is a very large public school located in the small city of Manhattan.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Kansas State University

#3

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Dakota. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. UND is a fairly large public school located in the city of Grand Forks.

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

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Minnesota State University - Mankato helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in the Plains States Region . Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#6

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS

University of Kansas landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Kansas Report

#7

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

University of Iowa ranked #7 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public school with a very large student population.

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University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Mizzou is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Columbia.

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University of Nebraska at Omaha landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. UNOMAHA is a large public school located in the city of Omaha.

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#10

Wichita State University

Wichita, KS

With a ranking of #10, Wichita State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of Wichita, WSU is a public school with a large student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Wichita State University

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration and social service colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 470
Missouri 898
Minnesota 2,616
Iowa 290
North Dakota 91
Nebraska 215
South Dakota 67

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

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

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 14 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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