Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Colorado

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Colorado

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

8 Colleges
$16,487 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$42,414 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service School for You

With 1,536 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, public administration and social service is the #13 most popular major in Colorado.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

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 Schools in Colorado ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in Colorado to see which ones offered the best value programs for public administration and social service students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in Colorado

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges.

Best Colorado Schools for Affordable Quality in Public & Social Service

$8,400 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Colorado State University - Global Campus the best value school in Colorado for public administration and social service students. Colorado State University - Global Campus is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greenwood Village.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Colorado State University - Global Campus are $8,400 a year. Public Administration & Social Service majors at Colorado State University - Global Campus take out an average of $40,125 in student loans while working on their egree.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Colorado State University - Global Campus is ranked #2 for overall quality for public administration and social service in Colorado.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Colorado State University - Global Campus

$9,384 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus is a great value for public administration and social service students. Located in the large city of Denver, CU Anschutz is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CU Anschutz are $9,384 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, CU Anschutz also is in the top 20% of our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Colorado ranking.

Read More…

$9,005 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado State University - Pueblo. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Colorado list. Colorado State University - Pueblo is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Pueblo.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Colorado State University - Pueblo are $9,005 per year. After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Colorado State University - Pueblo carry an average student debtload of $26,685.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Colorado State University - Pueblo Report

#4

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, CO
$9,000 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado Mesa University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Colorado list. Colorado Mesa is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Grand Junction.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Colorado Mesa are $9,000 per year. After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Colorado Mesa carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

Read More…

$12,188 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Colorado State University - Fort Collins is a great value for public administration and social service students. Colorado State is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Fort Collins.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Colorado State are $12,188 a year. After completing their degree, public administration and social service graduates from Colorado State carry an average student debtload of $23,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $222.

Colorado State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Colorado list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Colorado State University - Fort Collins Report

$10,021 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Metropolitan State University of Denver did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students. Located in the city of Denver, MSU Denver is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MSU Denver are $10,021 per year. While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at MSU Denver accumulate an average of around $30,430 in student debt.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Metropolitan State University of Denver Report

$10,994 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration and social service programs. UCCS is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Colorado Springs.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCCS are $10,994 a year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Report

#8

University of Denver

Denver, CO
$54,819 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Denver ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Colorado list. Located in the large city of Denver, DU is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at DU are $54,819 a year.

Read More…

Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Utah 962
Montana 153
Idaho 621
Wyoming 149

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 8 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.