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2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region

9 Ranked Colleges
536 Degrees Awarded
$14,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

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 the Southwest region, there were 536 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,050 and $23,421 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school awarded 121 diplomas to qualified ’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, UT Austin has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $13,575 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UT Austin.

The low student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read more about Public Policy at The University of Texas at Austin

#2

University of Houston

Houston, Texas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Houston. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Houston, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UH, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UH is $9,925 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Public Policy at UH

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M University - College Station. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Texas A&M College Station is a large school located in College Station, Texas that handed out 5 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M College Station not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $13,270 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Texas A&M College Station.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Texas A&M College Station

#4

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arizona. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Arizona is a large public school situated in Tucson, Arizona. It awarded 8 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Arizona did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $11,466 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Arizona.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full University of Arizona Public Policy Report

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Skysong landed the #5 spot on the list. ASU - Skysong is a public institution located in Scottsdale, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 85 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

ASU - Skysong also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $12,020 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Arizona State University - Skysong.

Read full report on Public Policy at Arizona State University - Skysong

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Dallas. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. UT Dallas is a large public school situated in Richardson, Texas. It awarded 51 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Dallas not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $11,745 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UT Dallas.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Public Policy at The University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Arlington ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Arlington, Texas, and it awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Arlington also took the #9 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $12,974 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UT Arlington.

Read more about Public Policy at UT Arlington

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Norman, Oklahoma is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

University of Oklahoma also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend University of Oklahoma is $17,285 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Oklahoma

#8

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico

University of New Mexico - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. UNM is a large school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico that handed out 2 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UNM also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $14,458 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Southern Methodist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #9. SMU is a fairly large school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 41 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

SMU also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $27,331 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend SMU.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at SMU

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.

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