UNC MPA Earns Top 20 National Ranking, Strengthens Standing Across Specialty Areas

The UNC School of Government is proud to celebrate the recognition of its Master of Public Administration program in the latest U.S. News & World Report “Best Graduate Schools” rankings.

Now in its 29th year, the UNC-Chapel Hill MPA has earned a 20th-place national ranking, placing it among the top public affairs graduate schools. The program’s strengths go beyond its overall ranking. UNC MPA maintains its prestigious second-place national ranking in the local government management specialty area—a position that demonstrates deep, longstanding expertise in one of the program’s signature disciplines. The program also increased its standing to 9th in the nation in public management and leadership and 15th in public finance and budgeting, moving up one and three spots, respectively.

These results recognize the program for its consistent performance at an elite level overall and across a range of critical specialty areas in public affairs education.

“We are honored to see the UNC MPA program recognized among the nation’s best public affairs programs. These rankings reflect the dedication of our faculty, students, alumni, and partners—whose commitment to public service excellence continues to elevate our program,” said Willow Jacobson, UNC MPA director. “The work of our faculty truly shapes the field of public administration in both theory and practice, and our students and alumni live our mission of being outstanding public service leaders.”

The rankings, released April 7, 2026, assess programs in the School of Government and the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Public Policy.

This year’s list saw many UNC-Chapel Hill graduate programs receive high rankings.

Find all of the U.S. News & World Report 2026 rankings online.