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2023 Most Focused Colleges for Public Administration in Illinois

15 Ranked Colleges
446 Degrees Awarded
$27,600 Avg Cost*
Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 “Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois” ranking looked at 15 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public administration. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in public administration.

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 “Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois”.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois

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

Top 15 Most Focused Colleges for Public Administration in Illinois

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Springfield. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois. Springfield, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 71 students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at University of Illinois at Springfield

2
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Adler University
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Adler University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois list. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 10 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

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

Full Adler University Public Administration Report

3
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Governors State University
University Park, Illinois

Out of the 15 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Governors State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Governors State University is a small public school situated in University Park, Illinois. It awarded 19 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Public Administration at GSU

4

Out of the 15 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #4 spot on the list. Illinois Tech is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 31 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% 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 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 Illinois Institute of Technology

5
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Aurora University
Aurora, Illinois

Out of the 15 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Aurora University landed the #5 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Aurora, Illinois, and it awarded 29 ’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%.

Read full report on Public Administration at Aurora

6

With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Edwardsville, Illinois, and it awarded 37 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Public Administration at SIUE

7
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DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #7 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois list. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 50 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full DePaul Public Administration Report

8

Northern Illinois University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois ranking. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 35 diplomas to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Public Administration at Northern Illinois University

9
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Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #9. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 75 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, 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 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Northwestern Public Administration Report

10
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National Louis University
Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #10, National Louis University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 15 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Public Administration at NLU

11

With a ranking of #11, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 55 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UIC Public Administration Report

12
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Roosevelt University
Chicago, Illinois

Roosevelt University ranked #12 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Public Administration at Roosevelt University

13

With a ranking of #13, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois list. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Public Administration at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

14
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Lewis University
Romeoville, Illinois

Lewis University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #14. Lewis University is located in Romeoville, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

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%.

Full Lewis University Public Administration Report

15
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Blackburn College
Carlinville, Illinois

Blackburn College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Public Admin Major in Illinois ranking. Blackburn College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Carlinville, Illinois. It awarded 0 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Full Blackburn College Public Administration Report

Notes and References

References

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