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2024 Best Public Administration Schools in the Southwest Region

29 Colleges in the Southwest Region
1,834 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$48,251 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in public administration is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #60 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 29 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Public Administration Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,834 degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration School

Best Public Administration Schools in the Southwest Region The public admin program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for public administration schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Public Administration Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Public Admin
Bachelor's Degrees in Public Admin
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 the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Public Administration in the Southwest Region

The schools below may not offer all types of public admin degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Public Admin

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
126 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$53,305 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Texas A&M University - College Station if you want to pursue a degree in public administration. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the midsize city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were roughly 126 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration program at Texas A&M University - College Station earn $5,054 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration from Texas A&M University - College Station

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
109 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$48,579 Median Starting Salary

Arizona State University - Tempe is a great option for students pursuing a degree in public administration. Located in the midsize city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #119 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were about 109 public administration students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, public admin degree recipients generally earn about $48,579 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in public administration from Arizona State University - Tempe

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
135 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
1.5% Growth in Graduates

The University of Texas at Arlington is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration. UT Arlington is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Arlington. A Best Colleges rank of #290 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Arlington is a great university overall.

There were approximately 135 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UT Arlington in the most recent year we have data available. Public Administration degree recipients from The University of Texas at Arlington get an earnings boost of approximately $10,560 over the average income of public administration graduates.

More information about a degree in public administration from The University of Texas at Arlington

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
22.2% Growth in Graduates

The University of Texas at Dallas is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration. UT Dallas is a very large public university located in the city of Richardson. A Best Colleges rank of #216 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Dallas is a great university overall.

There were roughly 72 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UT Dallas in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program make an average of $41,883 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in public administration from The University of Texas at Dallas

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$47,494 Median Starting Salary

University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Norman. A Best Colleges rank of #140 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were approximately 47 public administration students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the public admin program make an average of $47,494 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
85 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
9.4% Growth in Graduates

University of Arizona is a very large public university located in the large city of Tucson. A Best Colleges rank of #133 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means University of Arizona is a great university overall.

There were approximately 85 public administration students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, public admin degree recipients generally make about $44,373 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Arizona

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
196 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
15.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Phoenix, UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #113 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UOPX - Arizona is a great university overall.

There were roughly 196 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UOPX - Arizona in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration program at University of Phoenix - Arizona get $2,371 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Phoenix - Arizona

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
42 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$52,180 Median Starting Salary

UNT is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Denton. A Best Colleges rank of #280 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNT is a great university overall.

There were approximately 42 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UNT in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from University of North Texas receive $3,929 more than the typical public admin student.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of North Texas

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
221 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$51,638 Median Starting Salary

Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the city of Phoenix. A Best Colleges rank of #272 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Grand Canyon University is a great university overall.

There were about 221 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Grand Canyon University in the most recent data year. Those public administration students who get their degree from Grand Canyon University make $3,387 more than the typical public admin graduate.

More information about a degree in public administration from Grand Canyon University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
115 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
37.4% Growth in Graduates

UT Rio Grande Valley is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Edinburg. This university ranks 21st out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 115 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UT Rio Grande Valley in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the public admin program earn an average of $47,278 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in public administration from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Best Public Administration Colleges by State

Explore the best public administration schools for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 317 887
Arizona 287 620
Oklahoma 257 77
New Mexico 219 55

View All Rankings >

Public Administration is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Admin Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 1,826
Transportation and Infrastructure Planning/Studies 8

View All Public Admin Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Human Services 1,424
Community Organization & Advocacy 801
Public Policy 585
Other Public Administration 13

View All Public Admin Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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