2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools
Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 126 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
Check out the public administration and social service graduate certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 15% Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Johns Hopkins University the best school in the United States for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.
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Out of the 126 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of South Dakota. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. USD is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Vermillion.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Chicago is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
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Kansas State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the small city of Manhattan, K -State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #7, University of North Dakota did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Grand Forks, UND is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Villanova University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
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Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public school located in the city of College Station.
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Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Virginia Tech ranked #12 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
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Clemson University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Located in the suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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University of Pennsylvania ranked #14 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #15, North Carolina State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public school with a very large student population.
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New York University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Colorado State University - Fort Collins ranked #17 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado State is a public school with a very large student population.
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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #18 on the list. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public school located in the city of Minneapolis.
Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Public & Social Service students that almost earned our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, KS |
| 20 | California University of Pennsylvania | California, PA |
| 21 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 22 | University of Maryland - College Park | College Park, MD |
| 23 | Montclair State University | Montclair, NJ |
| 24 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA |
| 25 | Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers, FL |
Public Administration & Social Service by Region
View the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Public Administration & Social Service Rankings
Public Administration & Social Service Related Rankings by Major
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 |
Most Popular Majors Related 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.