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Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

37 Colleges
$15,491 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$48,536 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree 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.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

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 the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 37 schools in the Southwest Region 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.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Check out the public administration and social service master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Arizona State University - Skysong to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southwest Region . Located in the midsize city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public college with a fairly large student population.

ASU - Skysong graduate students pay an average of $9,982 in tuition and fees each year.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means West Texas A&M University is a great value for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

West Texas A&M University graduate students pay an average of $8,574 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at West Texas A&M University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeastern State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. NSU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Tahlequah.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NSU are $10,911 per year.

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

#4

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Grand Canyon University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the city of Phoenix.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Grand Canyon University are $11,538 a year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas Woman’s University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. TWU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Denton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at TWU are $15,048 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Texas Woman’s University

#6

Lamar University

Beaumont, TX

Lamar 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 city of Beaumont, Lamar University is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Lamar University are $15,755 per year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Lamar University Report

#7

Western New Mexico University

Silver City, NM

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 master’s degree. Located in the 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.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Western New Mexico University

With a ranking of #8, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Rio Grande Valley are $15,677 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UT Rio Grande Valley is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Report

East Central University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the town of Ada, ECU is a public college with a small student population.

ECU graduate students pay an average of $11,634 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at East Central University

The University of Texas at Austin landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.

UT Austin graduate students pay an average of $22,944 in tuition and fees each year.

UT Austin not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Read More…

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 4,076
Texas 5,592
New Mexico 495
Oklahoma 520

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 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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