Best Colleges with Public Administration Degrees in the U.S.

Public administration is a four-year degree and is offered at many universities. It is an interdisciplinary degree that incorporates coursework from political science, statistics, public policy, human resources, finance, city planning and criminal justice. While there is some theory involved in the study, it is more geared towards a practitioner career in public service.

Students who complete their public administration degree often go into working in all levels of government, from local to federal. This degree prepares students for management roles in and out of the public and nonprofit sectors. But don’t fret if the government route isn’t your ideal career - this degree can also be used in the private industry as well. Public administration is great for students who want to have a variety of directions in which to seek employment, as students learn both technical skills, like statistics and finance, and soft skills such as critical thinking, public speaking, and writing.

The Best Public Administration Colleges of 2019

Rank	School Name	Location		Rating
1	Indiana University-Bloomington	Bloomington, IN	Indiana University-Bloomington offers 4 Public Administration Degree programs. It's a large public university in a small city. In 2015, 730 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 509 Bachelor's degrees, 216 Master's degrees, 4 Doctoral degrees, and 1 Certificates degree.	Based on 112 Reviews	Read more: Indiana University-Bloomington Reviews
2	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA	Image by @sophie_studemann Harvard University offers 1 Public Administration Degree program. It's a large private university in a mid sized city. In 2015, 370 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 370 Master's degrees.	Based on 44 Reviews	Read more: Harvard University Reviews
3	New York University	New York, NY	Image by Jean-Christophe Benoist New York University offers 4 Public Administration Degree programs. It's a large private university in a large city. In 2015, 288 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 283 Master's degrees, 4 Doctoral degrees, 1 Certificates degree.	Based on 60 Reviews	Read more: New York University Reviews
4	Syracuse University	Syracuse, NY	Image by @ultralight_sa Syracuse University offers 5 Public Administration Degree programs. It's a large private university in a mid sized city. In 2015, 250 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 151 Master's degrees, 80 Bachelor's degrees, 15 Certificates degrees, and 4 Doctoral degrees.	Based on 60 Reviews	Read more: Syracuse University Reviews
5	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, CA	Image by @anders_eggert University of Southern California offers 1 Public Administration Degree program. It's a large private university in a large city. In 2015, 173 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 173 Master's degrees.	Based on 52 Reviews	Read more: University of Southern California Reviews
6	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	Seattle, WA	University of Washington-Seattle Campus offers 4 Public Administration Degree programs. It's a large public university in a large city. In 2015, 235 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 231 Master's degrees, and 4 Doctoral degrees.	Based on 144 Reviews	Read more: University of Washington-Seattle Campus Reviews
7	Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	Image by @ojas_ Northwestern University offers 2 Public Administration Degree programs. It's a large private university in a small city. In 2015, 108 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 108 Master's degrees.	Based on 40 Reviews	Read more: Northwestern University Reviews
8	Cornell University	Ithaca, NY	Cornell University offers 1 Public Administration Degree program. It's a large private university in a small city. In 2015, 103 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 103 Master's degrees.	Based on 100 Reviews	Read more: Cornell University Reviews
9	California State University-Northridge	Northridge, CA	California State University-Northridge offers 2 Public Administration Degree programs. It's a large public university in a large city. In 2015, 346 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 322 Master's degrees, and 24 Bachelor's degrees.	Based on 28 Reviews	Read more: California State University-Northridge Reviews
10	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA	Image by @moonizzang University of Pennsylvania offers 1 Public Administration Degree program. It's a large private university in a large city. In 2015, 52 students graduated in the study area of Public Administration with students earning 52 Master's degrees.	Based on 56 Reviews	Read more: University of Pennsylvania Reviews

List of Public Administration Schools in the U.S.

School Name	Average tuition	Student Teacher Ratio	Enrolled Students
Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	3/5	23 : 1	48,514
Harvard University Cambridge, MA	5/5	14 : 1	29,652
New York University New York, NY	5/5	8 : 1	50,027
Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	5/5	18 : 1	21,789
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	5/5	16 : 1	43,401
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	3/5	12 : 1	45,408
Northwestern University Evanston, IL	5/5	10 : 1	21,655
Cornell University Ithaca, NY	5/5	12 : 1	21,904
California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	2/5	32 : 1	41,548
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	5/5	12 : 1	24,876
American University Washington, DC	5/5	14 : 1	13,198
San Diego State University San Diego, CA	2/5	31 : 1	34,254
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY	2/5	23 : 1	14,732
Barry University Miami, FL	5/5	16 : 1	7,971
Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	5/5	6 : 1	22,686
Villanova University Villanova, PA	5/5	14 : 1	10,711
Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	3/5	15 : 1	58,663
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY	2/5	25 : 1	18,433
Florida International University Miami, FL	2/5	34 : 1	49,782
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	5/5	11 : 1	12,963
The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX	3/5	28 : 1	24,554
George Washington University Washington, DC	5/5	17 : 1	26,212
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	5/5	11 : 1	12,292
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	4/5	7 : 1	28,649
George Mason University Fairfax, VA	3/5	21 : 1	33,929

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Getting a Public Administration Degree Online

Schools offering online Public Administration degrees

Online Public Administration degrees are available at a variety of different schools with as many as 298 degrees earned at the most popular school. Read more below about all schools that have offered online Public Administration degrees. If you are interested learning more about getting a degree online, check out our page dedicated to online degree information.

Certificate

Associate's

Bachelor's

Master's

Doctoral

School Name	Certificate	Associate's	Bachelor's	Master's
University of Phoenix-Arizona	0	0	61	237
Indiana University-Bloomington	0	0	0	216
National University	0	0	21	176
Grand Canyon University	0	0	0	165
Walden University	11	0	29	155
Barry University	0	0	117	141
American Public University System	0	0	0	131
American University	0	0	0	131
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	0	0	0	117
Indian River State College	0	0	116	0
Central Michigan University	16	0	0	115
Florida International University	0	0	113	0
University of Hawaii-West Oahu	0	0	109	0
Northwestern University	0	0	0	108
Troy University	0	0	0	102
Capella University	0	0	9	101
DePaul University	0	0	0	98
Kaplan University-Davenport Campus	0	0	6	88
George Washington University	0	0	0	82
Marist College	0	0	0	80
Anna Maria College	0	0	0	78
University of Baltimore	1	0	0	75
Pennsylvania State University-World Campus	16	0	0	73
California Baptist University	0	0	4	68
Texas Southern University	0	0	0	66
University of Illinois at Springfield	0	0	0	66
San Diego State University	0	0	0	64
University of San Francisco	0	0	0	64
Bellevue University	0	0	0	64
Wayland Baptist University	0	0	0	63
Park University	0	0	11	63
Arkansas State University-Main Campus	0	0	0	61
Texas A & M University-College Station	0	0	0	60
Belhaven University	0	0	0	58
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis	57	0	0	0
University of Missouri-Columbia	20	0	0	52
Valdosta State University	0	0	0	51
The University of Texas at Arlington	0	0	0	50
Norwich University	0	0	0	50
University of Nevada-Las Vegas	0	0	46	0
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	0	0	0	45
Western Carolina University	0	0	43	0
Northeastern University Global Network	0	0	0	41
Hamline University	0	0	0	41
Golden Gate University-San Francisco	0	0	0	40
University of North Carolina at Pembroke	0	0	0	37
Old Dominion University	0	0	0	36
Gannon University	0	0	0	35
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	0	0	0	35
University of Nebraska at Omaha	3	0	7	35
University of La Verne	0	0	34	0
Colorado State University-Global Campus	0	0	33	0
Southern Utah University	0	0	0	30
Southern University and A & M College	0	0	0	27
St Petersburg College	0	0	26	0
Southern Technical College - Ft. Myers	0	0	26	0
University of Akron Main Campus	0	0	0	25
South University, Savannah Online	0	0	0	24
Florida Gulf Coast University	0	0	0	24
University of South Dakota	15	0	0	24
University of Alaska Southeast	0	0	0	23
University of Colorado Colorado Springs	1	0	0	22
Roger Williams University	0	0	22	0
Central Texas College	19	22	0	0
Notre Dame de Namur University	0	0	0	20
James Madison University	1	0	0	20
University of Phoenix-California	0	0	18	0
University of Delaware	0	0	0	18
Kent State University at Kent	0	0	0	18
University of North Dakota	1	0	0	17
Columbia Southern University	6	0	0	17
Indiana State University	6	0	0	16
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg	9	0	0	16
Southern New Hampshire University	16	0	0	0
Murray State University	0	0	0	14
Franklin University	0	0	0	14
Jacksonville State University	0	0	0	13
University of South Florida-Main Campus	0	0	0	13
Eastern Kentucky University	0	0	0	13
Post University	0	0	0	13
Stephen F Austin State University	0	0	0	12
Point Park University	0	1	12	0
Georgia College and State University	0	0	0	11
Centenary College	0	0	0	10
Northern Michigan University	0	0	0	10
Texas A & M International University	0	0	0	10
Clemson University	9	0	0	0
University of Arizona	8	0	0	0
Lindenwood University	0	0	0	8
Liberty University	3	0	0	0
Sul Ross State University	0	0	0	7
Washington Adventist University	0	0	0	7
University of Phoenix-Virginia	0	0	1	7
Lamar Institute of Technology	3	7	0	0
Regis University	2	0	7	0
University of Houston-Clear Lake	0	0	7	0
University of Maine at Augusta	0	1	6	0
University of Management and Technology	0	0	0	5
Western International University	0	0	0	5
Concordia University-Wisconsin	0	0	0	4
Mid-America Christian University	0	0	4	0
Brandman University	0	0	0	4
Hampton University	0	0	4	0
University of Virginia-Main Campus	3	0	0	0
Kansas State University	3	0	0	0
University of Phoenix-New Jersey	0	0	3	0
Cuyahoga Community College District	3	0	0	0
University of Connecticut	3	0	0	0
Sullivan University	0	0	0	3
Hodges University	0	0	0	3
Kaplan University-Omaha Campus	0	0	0	3
Eastern Oregon University	0	0	3	0
University of Phoenix-Missouri	0	0	2	1
University of Phoenix-Texas	0	0	2	0
Northern Arizona University	0	0	2	0
Ottawa University-Phoenix	0	0	2	0
Johns Hopkins University	2	0	0	0
Ottawa University-Kansas City	0	0	2	0
University of Phoenix-Louisiana	0	0	2	1
University of Phoenix-Michigan	0	0	0	2
Mississippi University for Women	0	0	1	0
University of Phoenix-Nevada	0	0	1	0
Ottawa University-Milwaukee	0	0	1	0
University of Phoenix-Tennessee	0	0	1	0
Buena Vista University	0	0	1	0
Georgia Southern University	1	0	0	0
University of Phoenix-Arkansas	0	0	1	0
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth	1	0	0	0
University of Phoenix-Florida	0	0	1	1
University of Phoenix-Minnesota	0	0	0	1
Kaplan University-Des Moines Campus	0	0	0	1
Concordia University-Ann Arbor	0	0	0	1
Kaplan University-Maine Campus	0	0	0	1
Notre Dame College	0	0	1	0
University of Phoenix-New Mexico	0	0	1	0
Saint Cloud State University	1	0	0	0

How many schools offer online Public Administration degrees?

34 Certificates
8 Associate's
50 Bachelor's
99 Master's

What degrees do people get in Public Administration?

Degree Level	Program Length	Colleges	Graduates
Associate's	2-year Length	47 Colleges	138 Graduates
Bachelor's	4-year Length	217 Colleges	3,437 Graduates
Certificates	< 1 year Length	116 Colleges	645 Graduates
Doctoral	1-2 year Length	48 Colleges	288 Graduates
Master's	1+ years Length	393 Colleges	12,868 Graduates

Public Administration Degree Overview

Researching a Public Administration degree you will find that there are many choices for a traditional degree as well as higher education options. Earning a degree in Public Administration may take more time than just your traditional degree as it is prevalent to obtain advanced degrees in complement to the traditional. The most commonplace Public Administration degree earned was a master's degree and it also has the widest range of school possibilities as well. The second most popular Public Administration degree that people acquire is a bachelor's degree. While a master's degree is the likely degree choice, obtaining a bachelor's degree degree isn't out of the question. Although an associate's degree is offered at some schools, getting a traditional degree is not very common. Keeping in mind what you hope to achieve by earning a degree in Public Administration, look to choose a degree at a school that can meet your flexibility and schedule needs.

Average cost of college for a Public Administration degree

Average Tuition and Fees for a 2 year Degree

Average Tuition and Fees	School Control	Student Residence
$3,472	Public	In-State
$7,399	Public	Out-of-State

Average Tuition and Fees for a 4 year Degree

Average Tuition and Fees	School Control	Student Residence
$8,252	Public	In-State
$23,512	Private	In-State
$19,459	Public	Out-of-State
$23,512	Private	Out-of-State