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2024 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration in Illinois

10 Ranked Colleges
446 Degrees Awarded
$16,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois” ranking.

Public Administration is the 60th most popular major in the country with 16,905 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $51,352 and had an average of $29,054 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 446 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,622 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in public administration. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public administration programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public administration program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois”.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois public admin students.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration in Illinois

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois list. UIS is located in Springfield, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 71 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

UIS also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIS is $12,034 for illinois public admin students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at UIS

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois list. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 37 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

SIUE also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $14,462 for Illinois Public Admin students.

Read more about Public Administration at SIUE

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 55 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our illinois public admin students list, UIC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $13,214 for Illinois Public Admin students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.

Read more about Public Administration at UIC

4
Aurora crest
Aurora University
Aurora, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Aurora University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois. Aurora is a medium-sized school located in Aurora, Illinois that handed out 29 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Aurora also made our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Aurora is $16,994 for illinois public admin students.

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%.

Read more about Public Administration at Aurora

5

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. Northern Illinois University is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 35 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend NIU is $13,956 for Illinois Public Admin students.

Read full report on Public Administration at Northern Illinois University

6
GSU crest
Governors State University
University Park, Illinois

With a ranking of #6, Governors State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois list. GSU is a small public school situated in University Park, Illinois. It awarded 19 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our illinois public admin students list, GSU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend GSU is $10,436 for illinois public admin students.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Public Administration at Governors State University

7
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois ranking, coming in at #7. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 50 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $31,174 for illinois public admin students per year to attend DePaul University.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at DePaul University

8

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois ranking, coming in at #8. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 10 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,285 for Illinois Public Admin students.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Public Administration Report

9
NLU crest
National Louis University
Chicago, Illinois

National Louis University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois list. NLU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 15 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

NLU also made our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #10. The yearly cost to attend NLU is $14,584 for Illinois Public Admin students.

Read full report on Public Administration at NLU

10
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois ranking. Northwestern University is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 75 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $23,279 for illinois public admin students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Public Administration at Northwestern

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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