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2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in the Southwest Region (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
536 Degrees Awarded
$18,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the public policy program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy in the Southwest Region (With Aid)

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school awarded 121 diplomas to qualified ’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

UT Austin did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UT Austin is $18,023 for southwest region public policy students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at UT Austin

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Dallas. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Richardson, Texas, and it awarded 51 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Dallas did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at Dallas is $15,232 for Southwest Region Public Policy students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 4.9% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full The University of Texas at Dallas Public Policy Report

#3

University of Houston

Houston, Texas

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Houston landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 12 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UH not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $12,838 for southwest region public policy students with aid per year to attend UH.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Houston

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arizona State University - Skysong. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid. Arizona State University - Skysong is a large school located in Scottsdale, Arizona that handed out 85 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ASU - Skysong, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $13,971 for southwest region public policy students with aid per year to attend ASU - Skysong.

Read full report on Public Policy at ASU - Skysong

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Arlington. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid. The University of Texas at Arlington is located in Arlington, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Arlington, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at Arlington is $14,246 for southwest region public policy students with aid.

Full UT Arlington Public Policy Report

#5

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Tucson, Arizona, and it awarded 8 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Arizona also took the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Arizona is $15,016 for Southwest Region Public Policy students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Arizona Public Policy Report

With a ranking of #6, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. Texas A&M College Station is a large public school situated in College Station, Texas. It awarded 5 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M College Station also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $19,057 for southwest region public policy students with aid per year to attend Texas A&M College Station.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 94%.

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

#7

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 Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. University of New Mexico - Main Campus is a public institution located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNM, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UNM is $14,446 for Southwest Region Public Policy students with aid.

Full UNM Public Policy Report

With a ranking of #8, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Norman, Oklahoma, this large public school awarded 23 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region public policy students with aid list, University of Oklahoma has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Oklahoma is $21,145 for Southwest Region Public Policy students with aid.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

With a ranking of #9, Southern Methodist University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. SMU is a fairly large school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 41 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

SMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Methodist University is $36,222 for Southwest Region Public Policy students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.

Full Southern Methodist University Public Policy Report

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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