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Best Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

2023 Best Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

446 Colleges
$48,536 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master'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 Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 446 schools in the United States to see which master'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 Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

Check out the public administration and social service master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Public & Social Service

#1

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Our analysis found Princeton University to be the best school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Princeton.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Princeton University Report

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#2

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Out of the 446 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

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#4

Duke University

Durham, NC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#5

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Johns Hopkins University is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.

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#6

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, PA

With a ranking of #6, Elizabethtown College did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown, Etown is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#7

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.

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#8

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#9

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

University of South Dakota ranked #9 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. USD is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.

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#10

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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#11

Winona State University

Winona, MN

Winona State University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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#12

St Catherine University

Saint Paul, MN

St Catherine University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#13

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Providence.

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#14

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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University of Maryland - Baltimore ranked #15 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. UMB is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Baltimore.

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#16

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA

San Jose State University landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#17

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.

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#19

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.

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University of Southern California came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools ranking. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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#21

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

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#22

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

University of San Francisco did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. USFCA is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

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#23

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

Clemson University landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#24

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Marquette University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Marquette is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Milwaukee.

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#25

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

With a ranking of #25, Villanova University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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Rest of the Top Best Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

#28

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS
#31

Trinity College

Hartford, CT
#33

American University

Washington, DC
#36

New York University

New York, NY
#37

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA
#40

Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, MN
#41

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA
#43

Boston University

Boston, MA
#44

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND
#46

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#48

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

Remaining Award Winners

This list shows the rest of the schools awarded a Best Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 446 different United States public administration and social service schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
52 Marist College Poughkeepsie, NY
53 Salisbury University Salisbury, MD
54 California State University - Stanislaus Turlock, CA
55 Smith College Northampton, MA
56 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
57 Augsburg University Minneapolis, MN
58 Augusta University Augusta, GA
59 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
60 Fort Hays State University Hays, KS
61 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
62 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
63 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
64 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
65 Anna Maria College Paxton, MA
66 Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
67 Drake University Des Moines, IA
68 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
69 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
70 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
71 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
72 Erikson Institute Chicago, IL
73 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
74 Yeshiva University New York, NY
75 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
76 University of California - San Francisco San Francisco, CA
77 Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA
78 Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN
79 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
80 Alvernia University Reading, PA
81 Indiana University - South Bend South Bend, IN
82 The College of Saint Scholastica Duluth, MN
83 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA
84 Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI
85 Hamline University Saint Paul, MN
86 Widener University Chester, PA
87 Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ
88 California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA
89 University of Maryland - Baltimore County Baltimore, MD

Public Administration & Social Service by Region

View the Best Public & Social Service Master'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.

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