What is the best degree for millennials? Anything in public service

Story by Josie Gatti Schafer, UNO Center for Public Affairs Research | Visualization by Mike Maciag | Updated by Melanie Kiper, 2/23/2022

Millennials have been described in many ways, but no one can deny their lust for social change and betterment. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics, tracking the number of persons completing degrees in the public service, shows this to be true. Degrees awarded for various public service fields of study have generally climbed significantly over recent decades. Bachelor's and master's degree completions for public administration and public policy have totaled about 20,000 in recent years, nearly double numbers in 2000.

Nationally, degree completions for most public sector professions have plateaued or dipped slightly the past few years, however, with the exceptions of public health and fire prevention degrees.

Interested in a degree in public service? Many programs are accredited through national associations, like the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/current_tables.asp.

About the Data

Degree statistics were compiled from data schools report to the National Center for Education Statistics, published in annual Digest of Education Statistics reports. Degrees are categorized using Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes. Graduation figures listed for fire prevention, education administration and supervision and public health degrees represent aggregate totals of multiple related degrees. Figures reflect national totals for the vast majority of all institutions. They do not include, however, a small number of schools not eligible to participate in Title IV financial aid programs or non degree-granting institutions.