2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in Maryland

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Maryland, there were 223 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,250 and $28,785 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 78 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,371 and $23,982 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

The public policy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in Maryland

#1

University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, Maryland

#1 in overall quality

$12,128 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - College Park. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in College Park, Maryland, this large public school handed out 68 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

UMCP did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” list. It costs about $12,128 for maryland bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Maryland - College Park.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Maryland - College Park Public Policy Report

#2

St Mary's College of Maryland

St. Mary's City, Maryland

#2 in overall quality

$12,323 Average Net Price

$47,260 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, St Mary’s College of Maryland landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, this small public school handed out 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

SMCM also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $12,323 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend SMCM.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at SMCM

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k)

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.

Featured Public Administration Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >