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Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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2023 Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

81 Colleges
$17,181 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$52,728 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration Master's Degree School for You

Public Administration is the #59 most popular major in the country with 16,905 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 81 schools in the Southeast Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for public admin students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for public admin majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 15% Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools

#1

Columbia Southern University

Orange Beach, AL

Our 2023 rankings named Columbia Southern University the best value school in the Southeast Region for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the fringe town of Orange Beach, Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit school with a large student population.

Columbia Southern University graduate students pay an average of $4,035 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration at Columbia Southern University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend American Public University System. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the fringe town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

American Military University graduate students pay an average of $7,050 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration at American Public University System Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Arkansas State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the small city of Jonesboro, A-State is a public school with a large student population.

A-State graduate students pay an average of $11,408 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration at Arkansas State University - Main Campus

#4

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Clemson University is a great value for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Clemson is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Clemson.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Clemson are $23,246 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Clemson also is in the top 10% of our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking.

Read full report on Public Administration at Clemson University

#5

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Liberty University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration schools in the Southeast Region . Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Liberty University are $8,360 per year.

Read More…

#6

Augusta University

Augusta, GA

With a ranking of #6, Augusta University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Augusta University is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Augusta.

Augusta University graduate students pay an average of $20,712 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Augusta University is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list.

Full Public Administration at Augusta University Report

University of North Georgia 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 #7 on the list. UNG is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Dahlonega.

UNG graduate students pay an average of $18,354 in tuition and fees each year.

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University of South Alabama ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Mobile, USA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at USA are $16,652 a year.

Read More…

The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. UT Chattanooga is a large public school located in the city of Chattanooga.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Chattanooga are $18,538 a year.

Read More…

#10

Kentucky State University

Frankfort, KY

With a ranking of #10, Kentucky State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the distant town of Frankfort, KY State is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at KY State are $12,660 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration at Kentucky State University

#11

Barry University

Miami, FL

Barry 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 #11 on the list. Barry University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Miami.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Barry University are $17,910 a year.

Full Public Administration at Barry University Report

#12

Morehead State University

Morehead, KY

Morehead State University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the town of Morehead, Morehead State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Morehead State University are $10,557 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration at Morehead State University

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, AL
14 University of Memphis Memphis, TN
15 Belhaven University Jackson, MS
16 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
16 Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY

Best Public Administration Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration colleges for a specific state in the Southeast region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 401
Virginia 602
North Carolina 469
Florida 1,032
Tennessee 107
Kentucky 123
South Carolina 88
Louisiana 121
Arkansas 186
Alabama 396
Mississippi 84
West Virginia 132

One of 5 majors within the area of study, public administration has other similar majors worth exploring.

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.

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