2023 Best Public Administration Schools
Finding the Best Public Administration School for You
In 2020-2021, 16,905 people earned a degree or certificate in public administration, making the major the #59 most popular in the United States.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 Public Administration Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 316 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Public Administration Schools in the United States
Check out the public admin programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools in Public Administration
Our 2023 rankings named Harvard University the best school in the United States for public administration students. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Johns Hopkins University is a great place for public administration students. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Dakota. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public Administration Schools list. USD is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Public Administration Schools list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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Out of the 316 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Winona State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
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University of Pennsylvania landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public administration programs. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Colorado State University - Global Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Greenwood Village, Colorado State University - Global Campus is a public college with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #8, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration students. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Georgetown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration students. It came in at #9 on the list. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.
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With a ranking of #10, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration students. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.
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San Jose State University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public administration programs. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #12, Villanova University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration students. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #13 on this year’s Best Public Administration Schools list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
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University of Southern California landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public administration programs. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
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With a ranking of #15, University of San Francisco did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration students. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.
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Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration students. It came in at #16 on the list. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
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Kansas State University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Administration Schools ranking. Located in the city of Manhattan, K -State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Clemson University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public administration programs. Located in the suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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New York University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Administration Schools ranking. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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George Washington University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Public Administration Schools list. GWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
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American University landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public administration programs. Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Virginia Tech ranked #22 on this year’s Best Public Administration Schools list. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
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Carnegie Mellon University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Public Administration Schools list. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.
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Golden Gate University - San Francisco ranked #24 on this year’s Best Public Administration Schools list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Mount Vernon Nazarene University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration students. It came in at #25 on the list. MVNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Mount Vernon.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Public Administration students that almost earned our Best Public Administration Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | Saint Cloud State University | Saint Cloud, MN |
| 49 | Indiana University - Bloomington | Bloomington, IN |
| 50 | Indiana University - South Bend | South Bend, IN |
| 51 | California Baptist University | Riverside, CA |
| 52 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 53 | Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY |
| 54 | Hamline University | Saint Paul, MN |
| 55 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 56 | California State University - Fresno | Fresno, CA |
| 57 | Saginaw Valley State University | University Center, MI |
| 58 | California State University - Bakersfield | Bakersfield, CA |
| 59 | Alfred University | Alfred, NY |
| 60 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Denver, CO |
| 61 | University of Maryland - Baltimore County | Baltimore, MD |
| 62 | National University | La Jolla, CA |
| 63 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS |
Public Administration by Region
View the Best Public Administration Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Public Administration Rankings
Public Administration Related Rankings by Major
Public Administration is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Public Admin
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Social Work | 58,326 |
| Human Services | 13,238 |
| Public Policy | 6,430 |
| Community Organization & Advocacy | 3,096 |
| Other Public Administration | 588 |
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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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