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Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Washington

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Washington

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

12 Colleges
$17,876 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$43,301 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service School for You

In 2020-2021, 1,252 degrees and certificates were awarded to public administration and social service students who went to a Washington college or university. This makes it the #14 most popular major in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Washington ranking. This report analyzed 12 schools in Washington to see which ones offered the best value 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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in Washington

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

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools

$4,929 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Tacoma Community College the best value school in Washington for public administration and social service students. Tacoma Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Tacoma.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Tacoma Community College are $4,929 a year. While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at Tacoma Community College accumulate an average of around $24,966 in student debt.

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$8,703 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Washington University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Washington list. WWU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Bellingham.

WWU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,703 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from WWU carry an average student debtload of $19,418.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Western Washington University Report

$8,685 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Washington University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Washington list. Located in the town of Ellensburg, CWU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CWU are $8,685 per year. Public Administration & Social Service majors at CWU take out an average of $21,390 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Central Washington University

$7,922 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Washington University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Washington list. Located in the fringe town of Cheney, EWU is a public school with a large student population.

EWU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,922 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, public administration and social service graduates from EWU take out $17,560 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$12,196 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Washington - Tacoma Campus is a great value for public administration and social service students. UW Tacoma is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Tacoma.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW Tacoma are $12,196 per year. Public Administration & Social Service majors at UW Tacoma take out an average of $15,612 in student loans while working on their egree.

UW Tacoma also made our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Washington list, coming in at #1.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Washington - Tacoma Campus Report

$8,529 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, The Evergreen State College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students. Located in the suburb of Olympia, Evergreen is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Evergreen are $8,529 per year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at The Evergreen State College Report

$12,076 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Washington list. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UW Seattle are $12,076 a year. After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from UW Seattle carry an average student debtload of $15,612.

UW Seattle also made our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Washington list, coming in at #2.

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$12,417 Average Tuition & Fees

Washington State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Washington ranking. Wazzu is a fairly large public school located in the town of Pullman.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Wazzu are $12,417 a year.

Wazzu excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Washington list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Washington State University Report

#9

Heritage University

Toppenish, WA
$18,500 Average Tuition & Fees

Heritage University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public administration and social service students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the rural area of Toppenish, Heritage University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Heritage University are $18,500 a year. After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Heritage University carry an average student debtload of $16,479.

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#10

Seattle University

Seattle, WA
$49,335 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, Seattle University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Seattle U are $49,335 per year. Public Administration & Social Service majors at Seattle U take out an average of $25,916 in student loans while working on their egree.

Seattle U excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Washington list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Seattle University Report

Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 8,979
Oregon 832
Hawaii 396
Nevada 610
Alaska 121

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 12 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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