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Best Value Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$9,032 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$25,305 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Associate 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.

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in the Plains States Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for public administration and social service students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Associate Degree Schools

#1

Century College

White Bear Lake, MN

Our analysis found Century College to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the large suburb of White Bear Lake, Century College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Century College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,907 in tuition and fees each year.

Century College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Century College Report

The excellent associate degree programs at Mitchell Technical College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in the Plains States Region . Mitchell Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Mitchell.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Mitchell Tech are $7,524 a year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Mitchell Technical College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Minneapolis Community and Technical College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Community and Technical College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Minneapolis Community and Technical College are $5,906 per year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Minneapolis Community and Technical College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lake Area Technical Institute. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. LATI is a small public school located in the town of Watertown.

LATI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,718 in tuition and fees each year.

LATI excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Lake Area Technical Institute

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Des Moines Area Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. DMACC is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Ankeny.

DMACC undergraduate students pay an average of $10,440 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Des Moines Area Community College Report

#6

Saint Louis Community College

Saint Louis, MO

Saint Louis Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Saint Louis Community College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Louis Community College are $7,155 a year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Saint Louis Community College

#7

Columbia College

Columbia, MO

With a ranking of #7, Columbia College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Columbia, Columbia College Missouri is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Columbia College Missouri undergraduate students pay an average of $11,636 in tuition and fees each year.

Columbia College Missouri did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Columbia College Report

Rasmussen University - Minnesota ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a small private for-profit school located in the small city of St. Cloud.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Rasmussen University - Minnesota are $13,558 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Rasmussen University - Minnesota is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Rasmussen University - Minnesota Report

Rasmussen University - North Dakota did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a associate degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Fargo, Rasmussen University - North Dakota is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Rasmussen University - North Dakota are $11,847 a year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Rasmussen University - North Dakota

With a ranking of #10, Rasmussen University - Kansas did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their associate degree. Rasmussen University - Kansas is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the rural area of Topeka.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Rasmussen University - Kansas are $13,639 a year.

Read More…

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 10 schools only.

  • 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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