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Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region

108 Colleges
$38,225 Avg Salary
$28,107 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service 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 Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 108 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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

Top 15% Best Public Administration & Social Service 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 degree in the Great Lakes Region . Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

On average, public administration and social service graduates from Northwestern take out $16,780 in student loans while working on their degree.

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#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service 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.

The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at UChicago take out is $16,683.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - River Falls. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public school located in the town of River Falls.

On average, public administration and social service graduates from UW - River Falls take out $28,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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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 Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Eau Claire is a fairly large public school located in the city of Eau Claire.

The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at UW - Eau Claire take out is $23,961.

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#5

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Marquette University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Marquette carry an average student debtload of $21,500.

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#6

Marian University

Fond Du Lac, WI

Marian University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Marian is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Fond Du Lac.

After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Marian carry an average student debtload of $28,402.

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With a ranking of #7, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Champaign.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at UIUC take out an average of $19,050 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $418, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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University of Wisconsin - Superior landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public administration and social service programs. UW - Superior is a small public school located in the midsize suburb of Superior.

On average, public administration and social service graduates from UW - Superior take out $29,333 in student loans while working on their degree.

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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #9 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.

While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at U-M accumulate an average of around $20,375 in student debt.

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#10

Cedarville University

Cedarville, OH

Cedarville University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #10 on the list. Cedarville is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Cedarville.

After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Cedarville carry an average student debtload of $24,250.

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#11

Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Mount Vernon, OH

Mount Vernon Nazarene University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the distant town of Mount Vernon, MVNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, public administration and social service graduates from MVNU take out $36,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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With a ranking of #12, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students. Located in the city of Oshkosh, UW Oshkosh is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at UW Oshkosh accumulate an average of around $28,411 in student debt.

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#13

Bluffton University

Bluffton, OH

Bluffton University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the distant town of Bluffton, Bluffton is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at Bluffton take out an average of $30,362 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#14

Ottawa University - Milwaukee

Brookfield, WI

Ottawa University - Milwaukee did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #14 on the list. Ottawa University - Milwaukee is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Brookfield.

The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Ottawa University - Milwaukee take out is $43,673.

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University of Wisconsin - Whitewater came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Public Administration & Social Service majors at UW - Whitewater take out an average of $27,650 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $151, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Indiana University - South Bend came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Indiana University - South Bend is a small public school located in the midsize city of South Bend.

The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Indiana University - South Bend take out is $24,440.

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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 Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
17 Capital University Columbus, OH
18 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
19 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
20 Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI
21 Erikson Institute Chicago, IL

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration and social service colleges 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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