2025 Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in Washington

When it comes to popularity, a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service sits in the middle of the road, ranking #16 out of 38 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 7 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor's Degree Schools in Washington ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 456 bachelor's degrees in public administration & social service during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

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

Your choice of public administration & social service for getting your bachelor'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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

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 - How many other public administration & social service students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• 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 bachelor'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 schools for public administration & social service students working on their bachelor'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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in Washington list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Public Administration & Social Service in Washington

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service.

Top Washington Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Administration & Social Service

1

University of Washington - Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

53 Annual Graduates

University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a good decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

2

Western Washington University
Bellingham, WA

94 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service has to look into Western Washington University. WWU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Bellingham.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Western Washington University

3

Eastern Washington University
Cheney, WA

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

50 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service has to check out Eastern Washington University. Located in the fringe town of Cheney, EWU is a public university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Eastern Washington University

4

Central Washington University
Ellensburg, WA

49 Annual Graduates

Central Washington University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in public administration & social service. Located in the distant town of Ellensburg, CWU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Central Washington University

5

Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA

18 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Tacoma, PLU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Pacific Lutheran University

6

Heritage University
Toppenish, WA

54 Annual Graduates

Located in the rural area of Toppenish, Heritage University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from Heritage University

7

University of Washington - Tacoma Campus
Tacoma, WA

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

47 Annual Graduates

UW Tacoma is a small public university located in the midsize city of Tacoma.More information about a bachelor’s in public administration & social service from University of Washington - Tacoma Campus

Best Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
California	37	2,747
Hawaii	30	247
Oregon	30	347
Nevada	30	233
Alaska	29	53

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Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Human Services	154
Public Administration	13
Public Policy	11
Other Public Administration	3

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies	398

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.