Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Public & Social Service Doctor's Degree Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Public & Social Service Doctor's Degree Schools

117 Colleges
$69,877 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Doctor'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 Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 117 schools in the United States to see which doctor'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 Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for public administration and social service majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

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

#1

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Our 2023 rankings named Harvard University the best school in the United States for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

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

Out of the 117 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of California - Berkeley Report

#3

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Princeton University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Doctor’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 be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read More…

#5

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cornell University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

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

#6

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of Pennsylvania

#7

Duke University

Durham, NC

With a ranking of #7, Duke University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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

#8

Loma Linda University

Loma Linda, CA

Loma Linda University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Loma Linda, Loma Linda University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Loma Linda University

University of California - Los Angeles came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

University of St Thomas Minnesota ranked #10 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UST MN is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of St Thomas Minnesota Report

#11

New York University

New York, NY

New York University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at New York University Report

#12

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at George Washington University

West Chester University of Pennsylvania came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. WCUPA is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of West Chester.

Read More…

#14

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Carnegie Mellon University

With a ranking of #15, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

#16

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

With a ranking of #16, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Chicago Report

#17

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

Clemson University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public school with a very large student population.

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

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for Public & Social Service students that almost earned our Best Public & Social Service Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
18 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
19 Capella University Minneapolis, MN
20 California Baptist University Riverside, CA
21 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
22 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
23 George Mason University Fairfax, VA

Public Administration & Social Service by Region

View the Best Public & Social Service Doctor'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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.