2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor'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.
The Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 532 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for public administration and social service students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 25 Best Schools for Affordable Quality for a Bachelor's in Public & Social Service
Our analysis found Minot State University to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Located in the town of Minot, MSU is a public school with a small student population.
MSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,163 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Minot State University
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Bemidji State University is a great value for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Bemidji, Bemidji State University is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Bemidji State University are $9,806 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Bemidji State University also did well on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Brigham Young University - Idaho helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in the United States. Located in the distant town of Rexburg, BYU - I is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BYU - I are $4,416 per year.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Granite State College is a great value for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the town of Concord, GSC is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at GSC are $9,015 a year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Southwest Minnesota State University is a great value for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Southwest Minnesota State University is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Marshall.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southwest Minnesota State University are $9,482 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Southwest Minnesota State University is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
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Colorado State University - Global Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Greenwood Village, Colorado State University - Global Campus is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Colorado State University - Global Campus are $8,400 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Colorado State University - Global Campus also is in the top 5% of our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking.
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Metropolitan State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Metro State is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Metro State are $9,394 per year.
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Western Carolina University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the town of Cullowhee, WCU is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCU are $8,367 per year.
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Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the rural area of Marion, IWU is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
IWU undergraduate students pay an average of $9,239 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #10, Bellevue University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Bellevue University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Bellevue.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bellevue University are $8,310 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Bellevue University is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
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Winona State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Winona State are $16,684 a year.
Winona State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
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University of North Carolina at Pembroke did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. UNC Pembroke is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Pembroke.
UNC Pembroke undergraduate students pay an average of $7,495 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #13, University of Phoenix - Arizona did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. UOPX - Arizona is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Tempe.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UOPX - Arizona are $9,552 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UOPX - Arizona also did well on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #14, University of North Dakota did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Grand Forks, UND is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UND are $15,037 a year.
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University of Wisconsin - River Falls landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - River Falls are $15,661 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - River Falls is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
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National University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. National University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of La Jolla.
National University undergraduate students pay an average of $13,320 in tuition and fees each year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, National University also did well on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Ottawa University - Milwaukee ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Brookfield, Ottawa University - Milwaukee is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ottawa University - Milwaukee are $12,616 a year.
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With a ranking of #18, Youngstown State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Youngstown State University are $9,732 a year.
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With a ranking of #19, University of Maryland Global Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. UMGC is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Adelphi.
UMGC undergraduate students pay an average of $12,336 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UMGC is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Maryland Global Campus Report
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Minnesota State University - Moorhead did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the suburb of Moorhead, MSU Moorhead is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MSU Moorhead are $17,564 a year.
MSU Moorhead excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
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With a ranking of #22, Columbia College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Columbia, Columbia College Missouri is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Columbia College Missouri are $11,636 a year.
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Ottawa University - Kansas City landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the midsize city of Overland Park, Ottawa University - Kansas City is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ottawa University - Kansas City are $12,869 a year.
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Ottawa University - Online came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Ottawa University - Online is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Ottawa.
Ottawa University - Online undergraduate students pay an average of $12,616 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Ottawa University - Online also is in the top 10% of our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking.
Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Ottawa University - Online
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Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Minnesota State Mankato are $18,200 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Minnesota State Mankato also did well on our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Minnesota State University - Mankato
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Remaining Award Winners
This section shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 532 different United States public administration and social service schools we analyzed.
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 Value Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
Public Administration & Social Service by Region
View the Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor'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 |
More Public Administration & Social Service Rankings
Majors Related to Public Administration & Social Service
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.
- 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.