2024 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
Public Administration is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #19 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 20 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 872 master's degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Public Administration School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of public administration for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality public admin 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 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 students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other public administration students want to attend this school to pursue a master'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 easy is it for public administration to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized public administration related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for public administration students working on their master's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The public admin 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 Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region.
Located in the city of Minneapolis, Walden University is a private for-profit university with a very large student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the public admin program report average early career wages of $50,053.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Walden University
Located in the city of Saint Paul, Hamline is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Master's recipients from the public administration program at Hamline University make $10,829 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Hamline University
Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program make around $52,011 for their early career.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Capella University
Located in the city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the public administration program at University of Nebraska at Omaha get $4,561 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a master’s in public administration from University of Nebraska at Omaha
Located in the remote area of Fayette, UIU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Students who graduate with their master's from the public admin program report average early career wages of $50,748.
More information about a master’s in public administration from Upper Iowa University