by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Public Administration is the 49th most popular major in the country with 16,897 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 3,076 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,682 and $26,217 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major” ranking looked at 173 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public administration. That schools that top this list have a program in public administration in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major”.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Hawaii - West Oahu. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. Located in Kapolei, Hawaii, this small public school awarded 139 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend College of Menominee Nation. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major. Keshena, Wisconsin is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana University - Bloomington. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. IU Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 589 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Metropolitan College of New York. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. Metropolitan College of New York is a small school located in New York, New York that handed out 20 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Metropolitan College of New York Public Administration Report
Out of the 173 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Flagler College - St Augustine landed the #5 spot on the list. Saint Augustine, Florida is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 34 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Public Administration at Flagler College - St Augustine
University of Guam landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking. University of Guam is a public institution located in Mangilao, . The school has a small population, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Barry University ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. Barry University is a medium-sized school located in Miami, Florida that handed out 63 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
Purdue University Fort Wayne landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking. Purdue University Fort Wayne is a medium-sized public school situated in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It awarded 44 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Purdue University Fort Wayne Public Administration Report
With a ranking of #9, University of Maine at Fort Kent did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. This small school is located in Fort Kent, Maine, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Western Carolina University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking. WCU is a fairly large public school situated in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It awarded 76 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Public Administration at Western Carolina University
Southern University at New Orleans did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking, coming in at #11. Located in New Orleans, Louisiana, this small public school handed out 8 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2020-2021.
Full Southern University at New Orleans Public Administration Report
Talladega College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking, coming in at #12. Talladega College is located in Talladega, Alabama and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.
Upper Iowa University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking. Upper Iowa University is located in Fayette, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 28 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.
Medgar Evers College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking, coming in at #14. Medgar Evers College is a small public school situated in Brooklyn, New York. It awarded 19 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice ranked #15 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. John Jay is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 66 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Indiana University - Kokomo came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking. Kokomo, Indiana is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Public Administration at Indiana University - Kokomo
With a ranking of #17, Park University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. Park University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Parkville, Missouri. It awarded 32 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
University of La Verne ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. This medium-sized school is located in La Verne, California, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of Maine at Augusta ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. Located in Augusta, Maine, this small public school awarded 6 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public admin students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #20, Syracuse University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. Syracuse is a large school located in Syracuse, New York that handed out 79 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
California State University - Dominguez Hills ranked #21 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. CSUDH is a fairly large school located in Carson, California that handed out 47 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Administration at California State University - Dominguez Hills
With a ranking of #22, Kean University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. Kean University is a fairly large school located in Union, New Jersey that handed out 33 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #23, James Madison University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major list. This large school is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and it awarded 59 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
San Diego State University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking. SDSU is located in San Diego, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 106 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Indiana University - Northwest came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Admin Major ranking. Indiana University - Northwest is located in Gary, Indiana and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Public Administration at Indiana University - Northwest
Not only did these schools make the top 26 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
