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Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Michigan

2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Michigan

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

16 Colleges
$17,011 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$48,536 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree School for You

With 3,411 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, public administration and social service is the #12 most popular major in Michigan.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Michigan ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in Michigan to see which master's degree 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 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

#1

Spring Arbor University

Spring Arbor, MI

Our 2023 rankings named Spring Arbor University the best value school in Michigan for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor, Spring Arbor is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Spring Arbor are $8,383 per year.

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#2

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Ferris State University is a great value for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Ferris is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Big Rapids.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Ferris are $8,232 per year.

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#3

Saginaw Valley State University

University Center, MI

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Saginaw Valley State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Michigan list. Located in the midsize suburb of University Center, Saginaw Valley State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Saginaw Valley State University are $15,748 a year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at Northern Michigan University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in Michigan. Located in the remote town of Marquette, Northern Michigan University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Northern Michigan University are $10,612 a year.

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#5

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Michigan University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Michigan list. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Central Michigan are $15,644 a year.

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Grand Valley State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the large suburb of Allendale, GVSU is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at GVSU are $17,904 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, GVSU is ranked #5 for overall quality for public administration and social service in Michigan.

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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.

U-M graduate students pay an average of $25,230 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

U-M also took the #1 spot in our Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Michigan rankings.

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University of Michigan - Flint landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration and social service programs. UM Flint is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Flint.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UM Flint are $12,681 a year.

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Western Michigan University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. WMU is a large public school located in the small city of Kalamazoo.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at WMU are $17,807 per year.

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University of Michigan - Dearborn did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Dearborn, UM Dearborn is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UM Dearborn are $14,510 per year.

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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
Ohio 3,030
Illinois 3,948
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

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 16 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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