by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 52 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for public administration & social service students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 7,231 master's degrees in public administration & social service during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The public administration & social service master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality public administration & social service program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for public administration & social service students working on their master's degree.
The public administration & social service school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public administration & social service. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
University of Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public administration & social service. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Chicago
It is difficult to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Northwestern University
It's difficult to beat Loyola University Chicago if you wish to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Loyola University Chicago
It's difficult to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you want to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Indiana University - Bloomington
Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Ohio State University - Main Campus
UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Aurora.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Aurora University
UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Wisconsin - Madison
IUPUI is a fairly large public university located in the city of Indianapolis.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 12 | Wayne State University | Detroit, MI |
| 13 | Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global | Marion, IN |
| 14 | Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee | Milwaukee, WI |
| 16 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI |
| 17 | University of Cincinnati - Main Campus | Cincinnati, OH |
Explore the best public administration & social service schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Public Administration | 1,250 |
| Public Policy | 244 |
| Human Services | 172 |
| Community Organization & Advocacy | 107 |
| Other Public Administration | 27 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies | 1,605 |
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