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Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

14 Colleges
$55,530 Avg Salary
$25,500 Avg Student Debt

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.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in the Plains States Region to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

Our 2023 rankings named University of South Dakota the best school in the Plains States Region for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. USD is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.

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#2

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Kansas State University is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Manhattan, K -State is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Kansas State University Report

#3

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Dakota. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Grand Forks, UND is a public college with a large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of North Dakota Report

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Minnesota State University - Mankato helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a large student population.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report

The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public administration and social service schools in the Plains States Region . 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

#6

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS

With a ranking of #6, University of Kansas did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. KU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Lawrence.

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

#7

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

With a ranking of #7, University of Iowa did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Iowa is a fairly large public school located in the city of Iowa City.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Iowa Report

University of Missouri - Columbia 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 #8 on the list. Located in the city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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University of Nebraska at Omaha came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public college with a large student population.

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#10

Wichita State University

Wichita, KS

Wichita State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. WSU is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Wichita.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Wichita State University Report

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 791
Minnesota 3,576
Iowa 832
South Dakota 143
Missouri 1,624
Nebraska 490
North Dakota 321

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 14 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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