2023 Best Value Public Administration Schools in Iowa
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Public Administration School for You
With 114 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, public administration is the #85 most popular major in Iowa.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Public Administration Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 3 schools in Iowa to see which 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.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality in Public Administration
Our 2023 rankings named University of Northern Iowa the best value school in Iowa for public administration students. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
UNI undergraduate students pay an average of $9,053 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, public admin graduates from UNI take out $25,697 in student loans while working on their degree.
UNI not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Public Administration Schools in Iowa list.
Request Information
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Drake University is a great value for public administration students. Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Drake are $45,912 per year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Drake is ranked #3 for overall quality for public admin in Iowa.
Full Public Administration at Drake University Report
Request Information
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Upper Iowa University is a great value for public administration students. Located in the remote area of Fayette, UIU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIU are $33,609 per year. The average amount in student loans that public admin majors at UIU take out is $31,415.
Full Public Administration at Upper Iowa University Report
Request InformationBest Value Public Administration Colleges in the Plains States Region
Explore all the Best Value Public Administration Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Missouri | 368 |
| Minnesota | 504 |
| Kansas | 147 |
| Nebraska | 110 |
| North Dakota | 24 |
| South Dakota | 37 |
More Public Administration Rankings in Iowa
Majors Related to Public Admin
One of 5 majors within the area of study, public administration has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 3 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.