2023 Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Public Administration Master's Degree 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 Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 276 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for public admin students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Public Administration
Our 2023 rankings named Columbia Southern University the best value school in the United States for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Columbia Southern University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the town of Orange Beach.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Columbia Southern University are $4,035 per year.
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Out of the 276 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are $9,308 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Minnesota State Mankato also is in the top 20% of our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Out of the 276 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of South Dakota landed the # 3 spot on the list. USD is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Vermillion.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at USD are $12,768 a year.
USD excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Metropolitan State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Metro State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Metro State are $10,237 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Provo. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
BYU graduate students pay an average of $7,700 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, BYU also is in the top 20% of our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Anna Maria College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the rural area of Paxton, Anna Maria is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Anna Maria graduate students pay an average of $10,530 in tuition and fees each year.
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American Public University System came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at American Military University are $7,050 a year.
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Hamline University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Hamline is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Saint Paul.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Hamline are $10,402 per year.
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Park University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the large suburb of Parkville, Park University is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
Park University graduate students pay an average of $6,435 in tuition and fees each year.
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Drake University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Drake is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Des Moines.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Drake are $11,988 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Drake also did well on our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Westfield State University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the large suburb of Westfield, Westfield is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Westfield are $6,696 a year.
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Post University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Post University is a large private for-profit school located in the suburb of Waterbury.
Post University graduate students pay an average of $7,700 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #12, Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Teaneck, FDU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
FDU graduate students pay an average of $10,722 in tuition and fees each year.
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Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public school with a fairly large student population.
ASU - Skysong graduate students pay an average of $9,982 in tuition and fees each year.
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Northern Illinois University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NIU are $11,390 per year.
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Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. FDU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Madison.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at FDU are $10,722 a year.
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Saint Cloud State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Located in the city of Saint Cloud, St. Cloud State University is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at St. Cloud State University are $13,412 a year.
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Seattle University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. Seattle U is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Seattle.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Seattle U are $14,310 per year.
Seattle U excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list.
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San Jose State University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at San Jose State are $18,790 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, San Jose State also did well on our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Marywood University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the city of Scranton, Marywood is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Marywood are $11,438 a year.
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With a ranking of #21, Marist College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Poughkeepsie, Marist is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marist are $15,760 per year.
Marist also claimed a spot on our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. SIUE is a large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.
SIUE graduate students pay an average of $9,316 in tuition and fees each year.
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Lindenwood University ranked #24 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Saint Charles, Lindenwood University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Lindenwood University are $9,784 a year.
Read full report on Public Administration at Lindenwood University
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California Baptist University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Baptist are $14,320 per year.
Read full report on Public Administration at California Baptist University
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Public Administration students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools award.
Rank | College | Location |
---|---|---|
42 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
43 | Indiana University - South Bend | South Bend, IN |
43 | Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania | Shippensburg, PA |
45 | Clemson University | Clemson, SC |
46 | Liberty University | Lynchburg, VA |
47 | California State University - Bakersfield | Bakersfield, CA |
48 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Edinburg, TX |
49 | University of La Verne | La Verne, CA |
50 | Augusta University | Augusta, GA |
51 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
52 | Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant, MI |
53 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
54 | Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield, MO |
54 | Kansas State University | Manhattan, KS |
Public Administration by Region
View the Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
Region |
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Southeast |
New England |
Rocky Mountains |
Plains States |
Middle Atlantic |
Far Western US |
Southwest |
Great Lakes |
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Public Administration Related Majors for Public Admin
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.
- 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.