2025 Best Public Administration & Social Service Associate Degree Schools

When it comes to popularity, an associate degree in public administration & social service sits in the middle of the road, ranking #18 out of 38 majors in the country. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

College Factual looked at 68 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Public Administration & Social Service Associate Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 6,052 associate degrees in public administration & social service to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Public Administration & Social Service School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of public administration & social service for getting your associate degree school matters. 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:

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 account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate 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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on public administration & social service students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of public administration & social service students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt public administration & social service students go into to obtain their associate 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 complete 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 associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Associate Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Public Administration & Social Service in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate 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.

13 Top Schools for an Associate in Public Administration & Social Service

1

Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global
Marion, IN

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

114 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in public administration & social service has to take a look at Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global. IWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Marion.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global

2

Rasmussen University - Florida
Ocala, FL

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

29 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Rasmussen University - Florida if you want to pursue an associate degree in public administration & social service. Located in the small city of Ocala, Rasmussen University - Florida is a private for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Rasmussen University - Florida

3

Community College of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

35 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Community College of Philadelphia if you want to pursue an associate degree in public administration & social service. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Community College of Philadelphia is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Community College of Philadelphia

4

SUNY Empire State College
Saratoga Springs, NY

Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type

47 Annual Graduates

SUNY Empire State College is a great decision for students interested in an associate degree in public administration & social service. SUNY Empire is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Saratoga Springs.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from SUNY Empire State College

5

Tacoma Community College
Tacoma, WA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

24 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Tacoma, Tacoma Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Tacoma Community College

6

Quinsigamond Community College
Worcester, MA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

30 Annual Graduates

Quinsigamond Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the city of Worcester.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Quinsigamond Community College

7

Rasmussen University - Minnesota
St. Cloud, MN

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

18 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of St. Cloud, Rasmussen University - Minnesota is a private for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Rasmussen University - Minnesota

8

Bryant & Stratton College - Online
Orchard Park, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

145 Annual Graduates

Bryant & Stratton College - Online is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Orchard Park.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Bryant & Stratton College - Online

9

Monroe College
Bronx, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

67 Annual Graduates

Monroe College is a medium-sized private for-profit college located in the large city of Bronx.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Monroe College

10

South Texas College
McAllen, TX

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

81 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of McAllen, South Texas College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from South Texas College

11

Touro College
New York, NY

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

14 Annual Graduates

Touro is a fairly large private not-for-profit college located in the large city of New York.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Touro College

12

Goodwin College
East Hartford, CT

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

15 Annual Graduates

Goodwin is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of East Hartford.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Goodwin College

13

Borough of Manhattan Community College
New York, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

98 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of New York, BMCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in public administration & social service from Borough of Manhattan Community College

Honorable Mentions

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 Associate Degree Schools award.

Rank	College	Location
14	Capital Community College	Hartford, CT
15	Nassau Community College	Garden City, NY
16	Metropolitan Community College	Omaha, NE
17	Bristol Community College	Fall River, MA
18	Delaware Technical Community College - Terry	Dover, DE
19	Brookdale Community College	Lincroft, NJ
20	Minneapolis Community and Technical College	Minneapolis, MN
21	New York City College of Technology	Brooklyn, NY
22	Ferris State University	Big Rapids, MI

Public Administration & Social Service by Region

View the Best Public Administration & Social Service Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Human Services	3,742
Community Organization & Advocacy	259
Public Administration	73
Other Public Administration	42
Public Policy	2

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies	6,015

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.