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2023 Most Popular Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

601 Colleges
$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.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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 Most Popular Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 601 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Public Administration & Social Service program at each school on the list.

Check out the public administration and social service master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Southern California is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Of the 1,182 students majoring in public administration and social service at USC, 22% are male and 78% are female.

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#3

Fordham University

Bronx, NY

Out of the 601 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Fordham University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 1,036 students majoring in public administration and social service at Fordham U, 10% are male and 90% are female.

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Out of the 601 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Columbia University in the City of New York landed the # 4 spot on the list. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

About 76% of the students majoring in public administration and social service at the school are women while 24% are male.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Columbia University in the City of New York

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means The University of Texas at Arlington is a great place for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Arlington, UT Arlington is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 753 students majoring in public administration and social service at UT Arlington, 11% are male and 89% are female.

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Rutgers University - New Brunswick came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Rutgers New Brunswick is a fairly large public school located in the city of New Brunswick.

Women make up 86% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

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#7

New York University

New York, NY

New York University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 81% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at New York University Report

#8

Hunter College

New York, NY

Hunter College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of New York, Hunter is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 84% of the students majoring in public administration and social service at the school are women while 16% are male.

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#9

Simmons University

Boston, MA

With a ranking of #9, Simmons University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Simmons is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.

About 87% of the students majoring in public administration and social service at the school are women while 13% are male.

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With a ranking of #10, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 552 students majoring in public administration and social service at U-M, 21% are male and 79% are female.

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Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the large city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 551 students majoring in public administration and social service at IUPUI, 19% are male and 81% are female.

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#12

University of Denver

Denver, CO

With a ranking of #12, University of Denver did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. DU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Denver.

Of the 509 students majoring in public administration and social service at DU, 9% are male and 91% are female.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at University of Denver Report

#13

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

Aurora University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Aurora is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Aurora.

Women make up 88% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Aurora University Report

Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 438 students majoring in public administration and social service at Ohio State, 19% are male and 81% are female.

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#15

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

With a ranking of #15, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Women make up 67% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

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University of Maryland - Baltimore did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. UMB is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Baltimore.

Of the 411 students majoring in public administration and social service at UMB, 10% are male and 90% are female.

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California State University - Northridge landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public administration and social service programs. CSUN is a fairly large public school located in the city of Northridge.

Women make up 77% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - Northridge

#18

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 50% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

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

University of Central Florida did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. UCF is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Orlando.

Of the 356 students majoring in public administration and social service at UCF, 17% are male and 83% are female.

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With a ranking of #20, Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 354 students majoring in public administration and social service at Louisiana State University, 15% are male and 85% are female.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Report

#21

Wayne State University

Detroit, MI

With a ranking of #21, Wayne State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Wayne State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Detroit.

About 89% of the students majoring in public administration and social service at the school are women while 11% are male.

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California State University - Long Beach ranked #22 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 79% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California State University - Long Beach

Arizona State University - Tempe ranked #23 on this year’s Most Popular Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public school with a very large student population.

Women make up 78% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Arizona State University - Tempe Report

#24

Boston University

Boston, MA

Boston University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

About 88% of the students majoring in public administration and social service at the school are women while 12% are male.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Boston University Report

With a ranking of #25, Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 85% of the public administration and social service majors at the school.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Arizona State University - Skysong

#27

Portland State University

Portland, OR
#32

Widener University

Chester, PA
#34

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, NY
#35

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA
#36

University of Georgia

Athens, GA
#39

Purdue University Global

Indianapolis, IN
#41

The University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, AL
#42

University of Houston

Houston, TX
#43

University at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY
#44

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA
#45

Barry University

Miami, FL
#46

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA
#46

Troy University

Troy, AL
#49

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT
#50

Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY

Remaining Award Winners

This list represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Most Popular Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 601 different United States public administration and social service schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Yeshiva University New York, NY
52 John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY
53 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA
54 Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ
55 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
56 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
57 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
58 American University Washington, DC
59 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Norman, OK
60 Adelphi University Garden City, NY
60 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
62 Georgetown University Washington, DC
63 Capella University Minneapolis, MN
63 University of Louisville Louisville, KY
65 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
66 Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY
66 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
68 University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA
69 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
69 University at Albany Albany, NY
71 Salisbury University Salisbury, MD
72 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
72 Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO
74 California State University - San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
75 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
76 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
77 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
78 University of New England Biddeford, ME
79 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
80 California State University - Dominguez Hills Carson, CA
81 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
81 Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Edinboro, PA
83 Baruch College New York, NY
84 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
85 Arkansas State University - Main Campus Jonesboro, AR
86 University of Phoenix - Arizona Tempe, AZ
86 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
88 Binghamton University Vestal, NY
89 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
89 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
89 Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Marion, IN

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
92 Saint Leo University Saint Leo, FL
93 Baylor University Waco, TX
94 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO
94 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
96 University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE
96 Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH
98 California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
99 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
100 Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA
101 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
102 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
102 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
102 California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA
105 Western New Mexico University Silver City, NM
105 Rutgers University - Newark Newark, NJ
107 The University of Arizona Global Campus San Diego, CA
108 California Baptist University Riverside, CA
108 Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO
108 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
111 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
112 LIU Post Brookville, NY
113 Louisiana State University - Shreveport Shreveport, LA
114 George Washington University Washington, DC
115 Columbia Southern University Orange Beach, AL
116 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
116 Spring Arbor University Spring Arbor, MI
118 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC
119 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
119 Catholic University of America Washington, DC
119 California State University - Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA

Public Administration & Social Service by Region

View the Most Popular Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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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