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Most Popular Public Administration Master's Degree Schools

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2023 Most Popular Public Administration Master's Degree Schools

369 Colleges
$52,728 Avg Salary

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.

The Most Popular Public Administration Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 369 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Public Administration program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for public admin majors pursuing a master's degree.

Our 2023 rankings named Columbia University in the City of New York the most popular school in the United States for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Of the 374 students majoring in public admin at Columbia, 41% are male and 59% are female.

Read full report on Public Administration at Columbia University in the City of New York

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Northridge. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.

About 72% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 28% are male.

Full Public Administration at California State University - Northridge Report

#3

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Grand Canyon University is a great place for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Grand Canyon University is a very large private for-profit school located in the large city of Phoenix.

Of the 221 students majoring in public admin at Grand Canyon University, 35% are male and 65% are female.

Read full report on Public Administration at Grand Canyon University

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a great place for public administration students working on their master’s degree. John Jay is a fairly large public school located in the city of New York.

About 59% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 41% are male.

Full Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Report

#5

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Harvard University is a great place for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 193 students majoring in public admin at Harvard, 55% are male and 45% are female.

Read More…

#6

New York University

New York, NY

New York University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Women make up 67% of the public admin majors at the school.

Read More…

University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. UW Seattle is a very large public school located in the city of Seattle.

Of the 168 students majoring in public admin at UW Seattle, 35% are male and 65% are female.

Read More…

#8

American University

Washington, DC

American University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

About 63% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 37% are male.

Full Public Administration at American University Report

University of Southern California ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

About 64% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 36% are male.

Read full report on Public Administration at University of Southern California

#10

Baruch College

New York, NY

Baruch College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Baruch is a large public school located in the large city of New York.

Of the 163 students majoring in public admin at Baruch, 34% are male and 66% are female.

Full Public Administration at Baruch College Report

#11

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.

About 45% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 55% are male.

Read More…

#12

Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY

Syracuse University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public administration programs. Located in the midsize city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

About 53% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 48% are male.

Read full report on Public Administration at Syracuse University

University of Phoenix - Arizona landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public administration programs. UOPX - Arizona is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the large city of Tempe.

Of the 160 students majoring in public admin at UOPX - Arizona, 28% are male and 72% are female.

Read More…

With a ranking of #14, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the city of Bloomington.

About 60% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 40% are male.

Read full report on Public Administration at Indiana University - Bloomington

University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. CU Anschutz is a very large public school located in the large city of Denver.

About 66% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 34% are male.

Read full report on Public Administration at University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus

With a ranking of #17, Rutgers University - Newark did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Rutgers Newark is a fairly large public school located in the city of Newark.

About 64% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 36% are male.

Full Public Administration at Rutgers University - Newark Report

#18

Barry University

Miami, FL

Barry University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Miami, Barry University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Women make up 55% of the public admin majors at the school.

Read full report on Public Administration at Barry University

#19

Columbia Southern University

Orange Beach, AL

With a ranking of #19, Columbia Southern University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Columbia Southern University is a large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Orange Beach.

About 47% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 53% are male.

Full Public Administration at Columbia Southern University Report

Arkansas State University - Main Campus came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools ranking. A-State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Jonesboro.

Women make up 60% of the public admin majors at the school.

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

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 67% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 33% are male.

Read full report on Public Administration at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

University of Central Florida landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public administration programs. UCF is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Orlando.

About 68% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 32% are male.

Read full report on Public Administration at University of Central Florida

Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public administration programs. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the midsize city of College Station.

About 50% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 50% are male.

Read full report on Public Administration at Texas A&M University - College Station

California State University - Long Beach ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 106 students majoring in public admin at CSULB, 38% are male and 62% are female.

Read More…

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis ranked #25 on this year’s Most Popular Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 49% of the students majoring in public admin at the school are women while 51% are male.

Read More…

#26

Anna Maria College

Paxton, MA
#27

National University

La Jolla, CA
#32

Marist College

Poughkeepsie, NY
#35

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA
#38

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA
#39

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY
#39

University of Georgia

Athens, GA
#42

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI
#42

Troy University

Troy, AL
#45

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN
#45

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
#47

George Washington University

Washington, DC
#48

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA

Remaining Award Winners

This list represents the rest of the schools awarded a Most Popular Public Administration Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 369 different United States public administration schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 University of Baltimore Baltimore, MD
51 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
53 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
53 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
55 University at Albany Albany, NY

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Public Administration Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
56 Southern Utah University Cedar City, UT
56 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
56 Villanova University Villanova, PA
59 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
60 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
61 North Carolina Central University Durham, NC
62 The Evergreen State College Olympia, WA
62 Clark University Worcester, MA
64 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
65 Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD
65 Purdue University Global Indianapolis, IN
67 DePaul University Chicago, IL
67 University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE
69 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
70 Texas Southern University Houston, TX
70 University of Illinois at Springfield Springfield, IL
72 Southern University and A & M College Baton Rouge, LA
73 Belhaven University Jackson, MS

Public Administration by Region

View the Most Popular Public Administration Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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.

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