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Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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

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

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, public administration and social service was ranked #14 in the country. In fact 98,583 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.

The Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 97 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Our analysis found Northwestern University to be the best school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

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#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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Out of the 97 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - River Falls landed the # 3 spot on the list. UW - River Falls is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of River Falls.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Eau Claire is a fairly large public school located in the city of Eau Claire.

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#5

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Out of the 97 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Marquette University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

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#7

Marian University

Fond Du Lac, WI

Marian 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 #7 on the list. Marian is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Fond Du Lac.

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#8

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

Ball State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ball State is a very large public school located in the small city of Muncie.

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University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh 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. Located in the city of Oshkosh, UW Oshkosh is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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With a ranking of #10, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. U-M is a very large public school located in the city of Ann Arbor.

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With a ranking of #11, University of Wisconsin - Superior did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. UW - Superior is a small public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Superior.

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#12

Cedarville University

Cedarville, OH

Cedarville University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Cedarville is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Cedarville.

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#13

Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Mount Vernon, OH

Mount Vernon Nazarene University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the distant town of Mount Vernon, MVNU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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With a ranking of #14, Indiana University - South Bend did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Indiana University - South Bend is a small public school located in the midsize city of South Bend.

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Public & Social Service students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
15 Bluffton University Bluffton, OH
16 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
17 Ottawa University - Milwaukee Brookfield, WI
18 Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI
19 Capital University Columbus, OH

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration and social service schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 3,206
Michigan 3,411
Ohio 3,030
Illinois 3,948
Wisconsin 1,299

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

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

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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