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2023 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools

532 Colleges
$33,749 Avg Salary
$29,352 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree School for You

Public Administration & Social Service is the #14 most popular major in the country with 98,583 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 532 schools in the United States to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States

Check out the public administration and social service bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Public & Social Service

#1

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Our analysis found Cornell University to be the best school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#2

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Princeton University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Princeton.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Princeton University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

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#4

Duke University

Durham, NC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#5

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, PA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Elizabethtown College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown, Etown is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Elizabethtown College Report

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

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#7

Bethel University Minnesota

Saint Paul, MN

Bethel University Minnesota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Bethel University Minnesota is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Paul.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Bethel University Minnesota

Winona State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Winona State University

#9

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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#10

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.

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Minot State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the town of Minot, MSU is a public college with a small student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Minot State University Report

#12

St Catherine University

Saint Paul, MN

St Catherine University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#13

Bemidji State University

Bemidji, MN

Bemidji State University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the remote town of Bemidji, Bemidji State University is a public college with a small student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Bemidji State University Report

Minnesota State University - Mankato ranked #14 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools 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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Minnesota State University - Moorhead did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the suburb of Moorhead, MSU Moorhead is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Minnesota State University - Moorhead

Nebraska Wesleyan University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Lincoln, NWU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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The College of Saint Scholastica landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. St. Scholastica is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Duluth.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at The College of Saint Scholastica

University of Wisconsin - River Falls ranked #18 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the distant town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Wisconsin - River Falls Report

With a ranking of #19, University of Nevada - Reno did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. UNR is a very large public school located in the city of Reno.

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University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public school with a large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Report

#21

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

University of North Dakota landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the small city of Grand Forks, UND is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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University of Washington - Tacoma Campus ranked #22 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Tacoma, UW Tacoma is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Washington - Tacoma Campus Report

Colorado State University - Fort Collins did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Fort Collins, Colorado State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#24

Monmouth University

West Long Branch, NJ

Monmouth University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #24 on the list. Monmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of West Long Branch.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Monmouth University

#25

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Marquette University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Milwaukee.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Marquette University

Rest of the Top 50 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools

#26

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA
#28

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS
#31

Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN
#33

Augsburg University

Minneapolis, MN
#34

Dickinson College

Carlisle, PA
#36

Granite State College

Concord, NH
#37

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
#38

Marian University

Fond Du Lac, WI
#39

Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA
#40

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA
#42

Trinity College

Hartford, CT
#43

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA
#44

Ball State University

Muncie, IN
#46

George Washington University

Washington, DC
#47

Loras College

Dubuque, IA
#48

Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, MN
#49

St Olaf College

Northfield, MN

Remaining Award Winners

This section represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 532 different United States public administration and social service schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA
52 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
53 Ottawa University - Surprise Surprise, AZ
54 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
55 University of St Thomas Minnesota Saint Paul, MN
56 University of Wisconsin - Superior Superior, WI
57 Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ
58 National University La Jolla, CA
59 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
60 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
61 Salisbury University Salisbury, MD
62 Pittsburg State University Pittsburg, KS
63 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
64 Washburn University Topeka, KS
65 Rutgers University - Camden Camden, NJ
66 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
67 Cedarville University Cedarville, OH
68 Villanova University Villanova, PA
69 West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA
70 Mount Vernon Nazarene University Mount Vernon, OH
71 Colorado State University - Global Campus Greenwood Village, CO
72 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
73 Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, PA
74 Fort Hays State University Hays, KS
75 California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
76 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
77 University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN
78 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
79 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
80 Stockton University Galloway, NJ
81 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA
82 Indiana University - South Bend South Bend, IN
83 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
84 Northeastern University Boston, MA
85 Bluffton University Bluffton, OH
86 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
87 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
88 Ottawa University - Milwaukee Brookfield, WI
89 Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI
90 Augusta University Augusta, GA
91 Capital University Columbus, OH
92 Seattle University Seattle, WA
93 University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, NE
94 Fresno Pacific University Fresno, CA
95 Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA
96 Brescia University Owensboro, KY
97 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
98 George Fox University Newberg, OR
99 Barry University Miami, FL
100 Rasmussen University - Florida Ocala, FL
101 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA
102 California Baptist University Riverside, CA
103 Heritage University Toppenish, WA
104 University of Maryland - Baltimore County Baltimore, MD
105 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
106 University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE

Public Administration & Social Service by Region

View the Best Public & Social Service Bachelor'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 & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 58,326
Public Administration 16,905
Human Services 13,238
Public Policy 6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 73,813
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

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 University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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