2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 126 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate 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.
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 15% Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools
Our analysis found Columbia Southern University to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the United States. Columbia Southern University is a large private for-profit school located in the town of Orange Beach.
Columbia Southern University graduate students pay an average of $4,035 in tuition and fees each year.
Columbia Southern University also claimed a spot on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a large student population.
Minnesota State Mankato graduate students pay an average of $9,308 in tuition and fees each year.
Minnesota State Mankato excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report
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The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of South Dakota 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. USD is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at USD are $12,768 a year.
USD also claimed a spot on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of South Dakota Report
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Out of the 126 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Park University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Parkville, Park University is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Park University are $6,435 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American Public University System. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.
American Military University graduate students pay an average of $7,050 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, American Military University also is in the top 15% of our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools ranking.
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Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Teaneck, FDU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at FDU are $10,722 per year.
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With a ranking of #7, Western New Mexico University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the remote town of Silver City, Western New Mexico University is a public college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Western New Mexico University are $10,335 a year.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at Western New Mexico University Report
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Montclair State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Montclair, Montclair State is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Montclair State are $13,519 a year.
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Liberty University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Liberty University are $8,360 per year.
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University of North Dakota landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. 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 graduate students at UND are $18,968 a year.
UND excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list.
Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of North Dakota
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With a ranking of #11, Seattle University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Seattle U is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Seattle.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Seattle U are $14,310 per year.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at Seattle University Report
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Aurora University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Aurora.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Aurora are $14,100 a year.
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Villanova University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Villanova are $21,199 a year.
Villanova excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at Villanova University Report
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Salem State University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. Salem State is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Salem.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Salem State are $10,477 a year.
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With a ranking of #16, Kansas State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Manhattan, K -State is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at K -State are $23,949 a year.
K -State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list.
Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Kansas State University
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California University of Pennsylvania ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools list. Located in the suburb of California, Cal U is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Cal U graduate students pay an average of $18,508 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at California University of Pennsylvania Report
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West Chester University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #18 on the list. WCUPA is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of West Chester.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at WCUPA are $16,758 a year.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at West Chester University of Pennsylvania Report
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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 Graduate Certificate Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Wichita State University | Wichita, KS |
| 20 | University of Illinois at Springfield | Springfield, IL |
| 21 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 22 | University of North Alabama | Florence, AL |
| 23 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
| 24 | East Central University | Ada, OK |
| 25 | California State University - Northridge | Northridge, CA |
Public Administration & Social Service by Region
View the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate 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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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