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Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Plains States Region

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

39 Colleges
$38,821 Avg Salary
$32,372 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service 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 Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 39 schools in the Plains States Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

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

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

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service 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. Located in the town of Vermillion, USD is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Winona State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Plains States Region list. Winona State is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Winona.

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

#3

St Catherine University

Saint Paul, MN

Out of the 39 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, St Catherine University landed the # 3 spot on the list. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at St Catherine University

#4

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS

The excellent programs at Kansas State University 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 . 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

The excellent programs at University of St Thomas Minnesota helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the large city of Saint Paul, UST MN is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of St Thomas Minnesota

Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public administration and social service programs. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.

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

Metropolitan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #7 on the list. Metro State is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Saint Paul.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Metropolitan State University Report

#8

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

University of North Dakota came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. UND is a large public school located in the small city of Grand Forks.

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Washington University in St Louis landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public administration and social service programs. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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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 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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