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2024 Best Public Administration Schools in District of Columbia

4 Colleges in District of Columbia
292 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$57,659 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in public administration, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #60 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual looked at 4 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Public Administration Schools in District of Columbia ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 292 degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration School

Best Public Administration Schools in District of Columbia Your choice of public administration school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Public Administration School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Public Administration Degree Level

Master's Degrees in Public Admin
Doctor's Degrees in Public Admin

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Administration Schools in District of Columbia list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Public Administration in District of Columbia

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the public admin degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top District of Columbia Schools in Public Admin

1
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
175 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
5.1% Growth in Graduates

American University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in public administration. The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington. This university ranks 3rd out of 8 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.

There were roughly 175 public administration students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration major at American University make $12,076 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration from American University

2
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In DC
28.6% Growth in Graduates

Georgetown University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in public administration. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.

There were approximately 7 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from Georgetown University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$71,996 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in public administration needs to take a look at George Washington University. GWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. This university ranks 2nd out of 8 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.

There were roughly 67 public administration students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from George Washington University earn a boost of around $14,338 over the average earnings of public administration graduates.

More information about a degree in public administration from George Washington University

4

Strayer University - Global Region is a good option for students interested in a degree in public administration. Located in the city of Washington, Strayer University - Global Region is a private for-profit university with a large student population.

There were roughly 24 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Strayer University - Global Region in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public admin program report average early career income of $44,452.

More information about a degree in public administration from Strayer University - Global Region

Best Public Administration Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Public Administration Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 334 405
New York 333 1,826
Maryland 279 240
New Jersey 273 348
Delaware 175 29

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Public Administration & Social Service area of study, Public Administration has other similar majors worth exploring.

Public Admin Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 292

View All Public Admin Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Policy 320
Human Services 19

View All Public Admin Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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