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Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

10 Colleges
$30,656 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$33,749 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 832 degrees and certificates were awarded to public administration and social service students who went to a Iowa college or university. This makes it the #15 most popular major in the state.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in Iowa to see which bachelor's 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.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

Our analysis found University of Northern Iowa to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Iowa. Located in the city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNI are $9,053 per year.

UNI also took the #5 spot in our Best Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa rankings.

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

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#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Out of the 10 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Iowa undergraduate students pay an average of $9,942 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#3

Loras College

Dubuque, IA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Loras College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in Iowa. Located in the small city of Dubuque, Loras is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Loras are $35,268 per year.

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#4

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

Out of the 10 schools in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Upper Iowa University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Fayette, UIU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UIU are $33,609 a year.

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#5

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mount Mercy University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids, Mount Mercy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Mount Mercy undergraduate students pay an average of $36,540 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#6

Grand View University

Des Moines, IA

Grand View University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Grand View University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Des Moines.

Grand View University undergraduate students pay an average of $30,954 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#7

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Saint Ambrose University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Davenport, St. Ambrose University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at St. Ambrose University are $33,570 a year.

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#8

Briar Cliff University

Sioux City, IA

Briar Cliff University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Briar Cliff is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Sioux City.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Briar Cliff are $33,998 a year.

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#9

Luther College

Decorah, IA

Luther College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public administration and social service programs. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Decorah.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Luther are $46,760 per year.

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#10

Clarke University

Dubuque, IA

Clarke University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Dubuque, Clarke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Clarke undergraduate students pay an average of $36,870 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 791
Minnesota 3,576
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

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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