2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate School for You
With 3,948 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, public administration and social service is the #13 most popular major in Illinois.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 5 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate programs for public administration and social service students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Public & Social Service
Our analysis found University of Illinois at Springfield to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in Illinois. Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, UIS is a public school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UIS are $11,111 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Aurora University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Aurora graduate students pay an average of $14,100 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Loyola Chicago are $19,894 a year.
Full Public Administration & Social Service at Loyola University Chicago Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
Northwestern graduate students pay an average of $56,567 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Northwestern is ranked #1 for overall quality for public administration and social service in Illinois.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UChicago are $63,936 per year.
UChicago did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list.
Request InformationBest Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 3,206 |
| Michigan | 3,411 |
| Ohio | 3,030 |
| Wisconsin | 1,299 |
More Public Administration & Social Service Rankings in Illinois
Public Administration & Social Service Related Majors for 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 |
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 5 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.