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Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

5 Colleges
$37,877 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$55,530 Avg Salary

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.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois

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

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.

UIS graduate students pay an average of $11,111 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of Illinois at Springfield

#2

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Aurora University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s 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 medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Aurora are $14,100 a year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Aurora University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Loyola University Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Loyola Chicago graduate students pay an average of $19,894 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Loyola University Chicago Report

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 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.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Northwestern are $56,567 a 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.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Northwestern University Report

#5

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of Chicago helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UChicago are $63,936 per year.

UChicago also made our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #2.

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

Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges 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

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.

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