2023 Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools
Finding the Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 75 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Colleges.
Top 15% Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools
Our analysis found Johns Hopkins University to be the best school for public administration students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the United States. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of South Dakota. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools list. USD is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Vermillion.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate 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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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Kansas State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Manhattan, K -State is a public college with a very large student population.
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of North Dakota helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Grand Forks, UND is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Villanova University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate public administration programs. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #7, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration students working on their graduate certificate. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
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With a ranking of #9, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration students working on their graduate certificate. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public school located in the city of College Station.
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Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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Virginia Tech came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
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Here are some additional great schools for Public Administration students that almost earned our Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Clemson University | Clemson, SC |
| 13 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 14 | New York University | New York, NY |
| 15 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS |
Public Administration by Region
View the Best Public Administration Graduate Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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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.
More about our data sources and methodologies.