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CIP 44.0401 Public Administration and Social Services

Public Administration

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

12,699

2025 · 419 schools

International share

9.9%

1,261 international students

Bachelor's degrees

2,270

2.4% international

Master's degrees

9,932

11.6% international

Overview

Public Administration is a field of study that focuses on the implementation of government policy and the management of public sector organizations. This discipline combines elements of political science, management, and social sciences to equip students with the skills necessary to navigate the complexities of public governance.

Students in Public Administration learn about the structure and functioning of government agencies, public policy formulation, budget management, and the ethical implications of decision-making. The curriculum often includes courses on organizational theory, human resources management, and public finance, along with practical skills such as policy analysis and program evaluation.

Graduates of Public Administration programs are prepared for careers in various sectors, including federal, state, and local governments, as well as non-profit organizations and international agencies. Common job roles include city planners, budget analysts, public affairs specialists, and policy advisors.

Moreover, Public Administration is increasingly relevant in today’s society as governments face challenges such as economic inequality, environmental sustainability, and public health crises. As a result, professionals in this field are tasked with developing effective solutions and improving public service delivery.

Overall, Public Administration offers a vital pathway for those interested in making a difference in their communities and contributing to the efficient functioning of government institutions. The skills and knowledge gained through this program are essential for fostering good governance and enhancing the quality of public services.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates grew 26% and the international share went from 7.7% to 9.9%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
42.7%
Asian
4.2%
Hispanic
16.9%
Black
16.8%
Other
9.5%
Intl.
9.9%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 419 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#3 Harvard University Massachusetts 235 112
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 138 91
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 64 18
#9 Johns Hopkins University Maryland 63 41
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 349 236
#14 Cornell University New York 116 54
#14 Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania 13 1
#27 University of Southern California California 110 25
#27 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina 61 0
#31 New York University New York 211 94
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 38 2
#42 Northeastern University Massachusetts 82 13
#42 Villanova University Pennsylvania 26 4
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 165 8
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 132 22
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 85 17
#52 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia 22 2
#55 University of Miami Florida 25 1
#59 George Washington University D.C. 51 4
#59 Florida State University Florida 105 15
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 21 1
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 52 6
#59 Texas A & M University-College Station Texas 108 11
#72 Syracuse University New York 204 45
#73 University of Connecticut Connecticut 52 2
#73 Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana 597 44
#73 Rutgers University-Newark New Jersey 106 5
#73 Binghamton University New York 34 2
#73 North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina 34 2
#80 University of California-Riverside California 12 0
#80 Clemson University South Carolina 23 1
#85 University of Delaware Delaware 26 3
#90 Baylor University Texas 1 0
#95 American University D.C. 125 6
#95 University of Illinois at Chicago Illinois 32 12
#95 University of Missouri-Columbia Missouri 68 11
#95 Rutgers University--Camden New Jersey 24 0
#100 Auburn University Alabama 36 7
#100 Florida International University Florida 100 5
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 20 2
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 11 1
#100 Creighton University Nebraska 4 0
#100 Elon University North Carolina 1 0
#109 Fairfield University Connecticut 2 0
#109 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire 10 0
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 14 0
#116 University of San Francisco California 38 0
#116 Iowa State University Iowa 16 3
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 25 1
#116 University of Oregon Oregon 87 2
#116 Brigham Young University-Provo Utah 66 8
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 51 11
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 28 4
#121 University of the Pacific California 12 0
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 128 4
#121 Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois 13 7
#121 Loyola University Chicago Illinois 8 0
#121 SUNY at Albany New York 58 7
#121 University of Dayton Ohio 12 0
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 11 0
#121 The University of Texas at Dallas Texas 36 8
#121 George Mason University Virginia 96 16
#133 Clark University Massachusetts 38 2
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 11 1
#133 University of Vermont Vermont 13 0
#137 University of Alabama at Birmingham Alabama 25 2
#137 California State University--Long Beach California 84 1
#137 San Diego State University California 64 0
#137 San Jose State University California 11 0
#137 St John's University (NY) New York 2 0
#137 University of Houston Texas 12 1
#137 James Madison University Virginia 59 4
#148 California State University-Los Angeles California 23 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 39 1
#148 University of Kentucky Kentucky 43 14
#148 University of Massachusetts-Lowell Massachusetts 10 0
#148 University of Rhode Island Rhode Island 32 0
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 25 0
#156 California State University-Fullerton California 47 1
#156 Kansas State University Kansas 5 0
#156 Seton Hall University New Jersey 6 0
#156 CUNY--City College New York 5 0
#156 Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia 40 2
#169 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado 17 1
#169 DePaul University Illinois 14 0
#169 University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina 22 1
#179 University of Louisville Kentucky 5 0
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 14 2
#179 University of Utah Utah 37 2
#179 Seattle University Washington 16 1
#186 California Lutheran University California 13 1
#186 University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii 10 3
#186 Wayne State University Michigan 16 0
#186 Texas Tech University Texas 16 3
#191 Samford University Alabama 3 0
#191 University of Arkansas Arkansas 1 1
#191 Florida Atlantic University Florida 79 3
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 30 3
#191 Drake University Iowa 33 0
#202 Sacred Heart University Connecticut 10 0
#202 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana 43 2
#202 University of Massachusetts-Boston Massachusetts 22 0
#202 East Carolina University North Carolina 18 1
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 36 0
#208 California State University--Fresno California 10 1
#208 California State University-Sacramento California 22 0
#208 University of La Verne California 30 0
#208 University of Idaho Idaho 22 1
#208 Mississippi State University Mississippi 15 0
#208 University of North Carolina at Greensboro North Carolina 18 0
#208 University of North Texas Texas 35 8
#219 Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis Indiana 65 2
#219 University of Nevada-Reno Nevada 12 0
#219 University of North Carolina--Wilmington North Carolina 28 0
#227 San Francisco State University California 17 0
#227 Ball State University Indiana 7 4
#227 University of Michigan-Dearborn Michigan 3 0
#227 University of North Dakota North Dakota 25 0
#227 West Chester University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 54 4
#227 University of Texas-San Antonio Texas 56 0
#227 West Virginia University West Virginia 11 0
#236 University of Colorado Denver Colorado 83 8
#236 Florida Institute of Technology Florida 19 0
#236 University of North Florida Florida 13 0
#236 University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada 32 1
#236 University of New Mexico-Main Campus New Mexico 21 0
#236 Kent State University at Kent Ohio 25 0
#236 Portland State University Oregon 33 4
#236 University of Texas-Arlington Texas 80 0
#250 Nova Southeastern University Florida 19 0
#250 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Massachusetts 2 0
#250 University of Missouri--Kansas City Missouri 15 2
#250 New Mexico State University-Main Campus New Mexico 8 0
#250 Lipscomb University Tennessee 41 0
#250 University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Texas 73 3
#250 University of Wyoming Wyoming 17 0
#262 University of Alabama--Huntsville Alabama 6 1
#262 Aurora University Illinois 16 0
#262 Suffolk University Massachusetts 57 5
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 35 0
#262 University of South Dakota South Dakota 13 3
#262 University of Texas--El Paso Texas 29 6
#276 Northern Arizona University Arizona 41 0
#276 Harding University Arkansas 5 1
#276 California Baptist University California 41 0
#276 University of New Haven Connecticut 23 0
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 14 5
#276 University of Missouri--St. Louis Missouri 18 1
#276 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Ohio 19 2
#276 Widener University Pennsylvania 4 1
#288 Wichita State University Kansas 23 2
#288 University of Memphis Tennessee 12 1
#288 Texas State University Texas 57 1
#288 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Wisconsin 5 0
#299 Azusa Pacific University California 8 0
#299 Southern Connecticut State University Connecticut 8 0
#299 Boise State University Idaho 15 2
#299 University of Nebraska--Omaha Nebraska 57 2
#299 University of Toledo Ohio 3 0
#299 Concordia University Wisconsin Wisconsin 1 0
#308 Northern Illinois University Illinois 23 2
#308 Oakland University Michigan 14 0
#308 Montana State University Montana 10 1
#308 North Carolina Central University North Carolina 60 1
#317 Kean University New Jersey 53 0
#317 Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Pennsylvania 1 0
#317 Augusta University Georgia 13 0
#328 Georgia Southern University Georgia 20 3
#328 Old Dominion University Virginia 49 1
#328 University of North Texas at Dallas Texas 11 0
#332 University of South Alabama Alabama 13 3
#332 Clark Atlanta University Georgia 8 2
#332 University of Baltimore Maryland 33 3
#332 Point Park University Pennsylvania 4 0
#342 Missouri State University Missouri 42 15
#342 Cleveland State University Ohio 19 0
#342 Lincoln Memorial University Tennessee 11 0
#342 University of Texas--Tyler Texas 8 0
#342 Kennesaw State University Georgia 20 0
#353 Jacksonville State University Alabama 17 0
#353 Arkansas State University Arkansas 54 1
#353 University of West Georgia Georgia 31 0
#353 Southern Illinois University--Edwardsville Illinois 23 0
#353 University of Michigan--Flint Michigan 18 0
#353 Trevecca Nazarene University Tennessee 2 0
#353 University of Houston--Clear Lake Texas 12 0
#353 University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Puerto Rico 16 0
#365 Troy University Alabama 34 0
#365 University of Central Arkansas Arkansas 6 0
#365 Indiana State University Indiana 6 0
#365 Northern Kentucky University Kentucky 23 0
#365 University of Louisiana--Monroe Louisiana 15 0
#365 Jackson State University Mississippi 13 1
#365 The University of Montana Montana 40 0
#365 Gardner-Webb University North Carolina 37 0
#365 Liberty University Virginia 195 2
#365 Eastern Washington University Washington 10 2
#376 University of Arkansas--Little Rock Arkansas 10 3
#376 Barry University Florida 80 1
#376 Belhaven University Mississippi 36 0
#376 Tennessee State University Tennessee 31 0
#382 Grand Canyon University Arizona 233 1
#382 National University California 111 0
#382 University of Colorado--Colorado Springs Colorado 24 0
#382 Post University Connecticut 26 0
#382 Valdosta State University Georgia 49 1
#382 Governors State University Illinois 15 0
#382 National Louis University Illinois 13 0
#382 Roosevelt University Illinois 4 0
#382 University of New Orleans Louisiana 2 0
#382 Southern University and A&M College Louisiana 31 0
#382 Wright State University-Main Campus Ohio 10 0
#382 Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi Texas 8 0
#382 East Texas A&M University Texas 1 0
#382 Lamar University Texas 26 2
#382 Tarleton State University Texas 72 0
#382 Texas Southern University Texas 36 0
#382 Regent University Virginia 13 1
#382 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce Puerto Rico 5 0
LAC #170 The Evergreen State College Washington 38 1
LAC #172 Brigham Young University-Idaho Idaho 13 2
LAC #172 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Wisconsin 10 0
LAC #177 Grambling State University Louisiana 8 2
LAC #184 Edward Waters University Florida 4 0
LAC #184 CUNY Medgar Evers College New York 34 0
LAC #184 West Virginia State University West Virginia 10 0
— University of Phoenix Arizona 218 0
— Walden University Minnesota 193 2
— California State University-Northridge California 181 1
— CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York 162 6
— Columbia Southern University Alabama 158 0
— Western Carolina University North Carolina 134 2
— California State University-Dominguez Hills California 114 1
— CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York 107 4
— University of Hawaii-West Oahu Hawaii 105 1
— California State University--San Bernardino California 88 2
— American Public University System West Virginia 68 1
— Anna Maria College Massachusetts 63 0
— Park University Missouri 63 0
— Franklin University Ohio 57 0
— Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus New Jersey 55 7
— University of Guam Guam 55 0
— California State University--East Bay California 53 1
— University of Illinois Springfield Illinois 53 2
— Grand Valley State University Michigan 51 6
— University of Maryland Global Campus Maryland 49 0
— Marist University New York 48 0
— Purdue University Global Indiana 43 0
— Metropolitan College of New York New York 39 0
— Southern Utah University Utah 38 0
— Upper Iowa University Iowa 37 0
— Murray State University Kentucky 34 9
— SUNY Brockport New York 31 0
— Savannah State University Georgia 30 2
— Pennsylvania State University-World Campus Pennsylvania 30 1
— California State University-Bakersfield California 28 1

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
General and Operations Managers 3,503,020 $64.87 $134,940
Managers, All Other 622,190 $73.99 $153,890
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 221,180 $58.46 $121,600
Social and Community Service Managers 209,330 $42.73 $88,880
Chief Executives 204,350 $129.63 $269,630
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents 13,810 $46.81 $97,360

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2002–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.