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Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

37 Colleges
$20,473 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,462 Avg Salary

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.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

The Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 37 schools in the Southwest Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for public administration and social service students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region

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

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools

Our analysis found Arizona State University - Skysong to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a degree in the Southwest Region . ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale.

ASU - Skysong undergraduate students pay an average of $13,092 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, ASU - Skysong also is in the top 20% of our Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

Read More…

$11,208 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Texas A&M University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region list. West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized public school located in the fringe town of Canyon.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at West Texas A&M University are $11,208 a year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at West Texas A&M University Report

$15,755 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeastern State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the town of Tahlequah, NSU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NSU are $15,755 a year.

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

#4

Western New Mexico University

Silver City, NM
$13,540 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western New Mexico University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region list. Western New Mexico University is a small public school located in the remote town of Silver City.

Western New Mexico University undergraduate students pay an average of $13,540 in tuition and fees each year.

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#5

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ
$17,189 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Grand Canyon University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Grand Canyon University undergraduate students pay an average of $17,189 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Grand Canyon University

$18,186 Average Tuition & Fees

Texas Woman’s University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Denton, TWU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

TWU undergraduate students pay an average of $18,186 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Texas Woman’s University

#7

Lamar University

Beaumont, TX
$18,482 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Lamar University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students. Lamar University is a large public school located in the midsize city of Beaumont.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lamar University are $18,482 a year.

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

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Rio Grande Valley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Edinburg.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UT Rio Grande Valley are $19,333 per year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Report

$16,555 Average Tuition & Fees

East Central University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. ECU is a small public school located in the town of Ada.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ECU are $16,555 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at East Central University

With a ranking of #10, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UT Austin are $40,996 a year.

UT Austin not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Read More…

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration and social service schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 1,198
Texas 3,265
Oklahoma 292
New Mexico 331

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.

  • 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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