2025 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Missouri

If you plan on getting your master's degree in public administration & social service, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #5 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 8 schools in Missouri to determine which ones were the best for public administration & social service students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 765 master's degrees in public administration & social service to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Public Administration & Social Service School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of public administration & social service for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

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.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to public administration & social service students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of public administration & social service students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt public administration & social service students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized public administration & social service related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for public administration & social service students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Public Administration & Social Service Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Missouri list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Administration & Social Service in Missouri

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public administration & social service.

Top Missouri Schools for a Master's in Public Administration & Social Service

1

University of Missouri - Columbia
Columbia, MO

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

101 Annual Graduates

University of Missouri - Columbia is a great decision for students interested in a master's degree in public administration & social service. Mizzou is a fairly large public university located in the city of Columbia.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Missouri - Columbia

2

Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

65 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Saint Louis University if you want to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. SLU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Saint Louis.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Saint Louis University

3

Missouri State University - Springfield
Springfield, MO

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

133 Annual Graduates

Missouri State University - Springfield is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the midsize city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Missouri State University - Springfield

4

University of Missouri - St Louis
Saint Louis, MO

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

53 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Missouri - St Louis if you want to pursue a master's degree in public administration & social service. UMSL is a large public university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from University of Missouri - St Louis

5

Park University
Parkville, MO

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

63 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Parkville, Park University is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Park University

6

Drury University
Springfield, MO

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

13 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, Drury University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Drury University

7

Southeast Missouri State University
Cape Girardeau, MO

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

13 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri State University is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Southeast Missouri State University

8

Missouri Baptist University
Saint Louis, MO

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

27 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, MBU is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in public administration & social service from Missouri Baptist University

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Minnesota	31	2,199
Kansas	30	401
Iowa	29	254
Nebraska	29	191
North Dakota	28	88
South Dakota	25	50

View All Rankings >

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Public Administration	271
Human Services	18
Public Policy	11

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies	257

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.