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Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

14 Colleges
$19,436 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$55,530 Avg Salary

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.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 14 schools in the Plains States Region 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. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Minnesota State University - Mankato the best value school in the Plains States Region for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Minnesota State Mankato are $9,308 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Minnesota State Mankato is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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#2

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of South Dakota helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in the Plains States Region . USD is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Vermillion.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at USD are $12,768 a year.

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

#3

Park University

Parkville, MO

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Park University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large suburb of Parkville, Park University is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Park University graduate students pay an average of $6,435 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Park University Report

#4

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of North Dakota is a great value for public administration and social service students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Grand Forks, UND is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UND are $18,968 per year.

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#6

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS

Kansas State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the city of Manhattan, K -State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at K -State are $23,949 a year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Kansas State University

Wichita State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. WSU is a large public school located in the city of Wichita.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at WSU are $15,323 per year.

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University of Nebraska at Omaha landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public college with a large student population.

UNOMAHA graduate students pay an average of $16,374 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Nebraska at Omaha Report

Missouri State University - Springfield landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public college with a very large student population.

Missouri State graduate students pay an average of $12,618 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Missouri State University - Springfield

#10

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS

University of Kansas landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. KU is a very large public school located in the small city of Lawrence.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at KU are $25,007 per year.

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

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration and social service colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 791
Minnesota 3,576
Iowa 832
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

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 14 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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