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Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in Illinois

28 Colleges
$41,772 Avg Salary
$26,600 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service School for You

In 2020-2021, public administration and social service students earned 2,690 degrees and certificates from an Illinois school, making the subject the 5th in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 28 schools in Illinois to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Public Administration & Social Service program at each school on the list.

Check out the public administration and social service programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in Illinois.

#1

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

Our analysis found Aurora University to be the most popular school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Aurora University Report

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

Out of the 28 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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The excellent programs at University of Illinois at Chicago helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in Illinois. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of Illinois at Chicago

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in Illinois list. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Champaign.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular public administration and social service programs. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

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

#7

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

DePaul University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #7 on the list. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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

University of Illinois at Springfield did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Springfield, UIS is a public school with a small student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Illinois at Springfield Report

#9

Dominican University

River Forest, IL

Dominican University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Schools in Illinois list. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

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

#10

Governors State University

University Park, IL

Governors State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular public administration and social service programs. GSU is a small public school located in the rural area of University Park.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Governors State University Report

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 1,347
Ohio 1,347
Wisconsin 532
Michigan 1,815

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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