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2023 Most Popular Colleges for Public Administration in Virginia

13 Ranked Colleges
604 Degrees Awarded
$32,300 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia

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 “Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia” 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 Virginia, there were 604 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $48,548 and $29,668 respectively.

This year’s “Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia” ranking analyzed 13 colleges that offered a degree in public administration. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular public administration programs in the United States.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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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 “Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia”.

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.

Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia

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

1
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Liberty University. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia. Liberty University is a large school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 196 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Public Administration at Liberty University

2
GMU crest
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia list. George Mason University is a large school located in Fairfax, Virginia that handed out 118 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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 full report on Public Administration at George Mason University

3
JMU crest
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia

Out of the 13 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, James Madison University landed the #3 spot on the list. JMU is a large public school situated in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It awarded 79 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, 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.

Full James Madison University Public Administration Report

4
Old Dominion crest
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Old Dominion University. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia. Old Dominion is located in Norfolk, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 44 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

Full Old Dominion Public Administration Report

5
Regent crest
Regent University
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Out of the 13 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Regent University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 32 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Public Administration at Regent

6

Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia ranking. Virginia Commonwealth University is located in Richmond, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 41 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at VCU

7
Strayer University - Virginia crest
Strayer University - Virginia
Arlington, Virginia

Strayer University - Virginia did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia ranking, coming in at #7. Arlington, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 20 students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Public Administration at Strayer University - Virginia

8
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia

Virginia Tech ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia list. Virginia Tech is a large school located in Blacksburg, Virginia that handed out 44 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Full Virginia Tech Public Administration Report

9
Hampton crest
Hampton University
Hampton, Virginia

Hampton University landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia ranking. Hampton, Virginia 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 more about Public Administration at Hampton University

10

With a ranking of #10, University of Management and Technology did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia list. University of Management and Technology is a small private for-profit school situated in Arlington, Virginia. It awarded 5 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Public Administration at University of Management and Technology

11

Virginia International University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia ranking, coming in at #11. This small school is located in Fairfax, Virginia, and it awarded 2 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Public Administration at Virginia International University

12
South University, Virginia Beach crest
South University, Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia

South University, Virginia Beach came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia ranking. This small school is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and it awarded 1 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Public Administration at South University, Virginia Beach

13
Shenandoah crest
Shenandoah University
Winchester, Virginia

Shenandoah University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Admin Major in Virginia ranking. Shenandoah University is located in Winchester, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 0 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%. 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 more about Public Administration at Shenandoah University

Notes and References

References

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