2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 6,199 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 477 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,725 and $29,647 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 249 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Virginia

#1

William & Mary

Williamsburg, Virginia

#3 in overall quality

$34,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$74,576 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend William & Mary. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k. Williamsburg, Virginia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

William & Mary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at William & Mary are $34,800, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Public Policy at William & Mary

#2

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$32,394 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$63,997 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Virginia is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 75 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Virginia, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Virginia are $32,394, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Virginia

#3

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$37,410 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$73,949 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k list. GMU is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 69 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our virginia master’s degree public policy students whose families make $0-$30k list, GMU has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at GMU are $37,410, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at George Mason University

#4

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia

#4 in overall quality

$8,349 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$50,356 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Liberty University landed the #4 spot on the list. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 92 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Liberty University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Liberty University are $8,349.

Full Liberty University Public Policy Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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