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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Far Western US Region

7 Ranked Colleges
233 Degrees Awarded
$19,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor's in the Far Western US Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 the Far Western US Region” 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 the Far Western US region, there were 815 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,911 and $47,125 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 233 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,083 and $22,209 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region” ranking, we looked at 7 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.

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.

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 for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Far Western US Region

#1

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Washington University landed the #1 spot on the list. Central Washington University is a fairly large public school situated in Ellensburg, Washington. It awarded 6 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CWU, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. It costs about $15,397 for far western us region bachelor’s degree public policy students per year to attend CWU.

Full Central Washington University Public Policy Report

#2

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Wazzu is located in Pullman, Washington and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 20 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Wazzu also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Wazzu is $16,358 for far western us region bachelor’s degree public policy students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 full report on Public Policy at Washington State University

#3

Mills College

Oakland, California
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Mills College landed the #3 spot on the list. Mills is located in Oakland, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Mills also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Mills is $22,202 for far western us region bachelor’s degree public policy students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Public Policy at Mills College

#4

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Saint Mary’s University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 7 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at MSMU, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Mount Saint Mary’s University is $29,214 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Mount Saint Mary’s University Public Policy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Riverside. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Located in Riverside, California, this large public school awarded 83 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

UCR also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $12,871 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students per year to attend University of California - Riverside.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Riverside

#6

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#1 in overall quality

Stanford University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region list. Stanford University is a fairly large school located in Stanford, California that handed out 20 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Stanford University is $11,496 for Far Western US Region Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students.

The low student loan default rate of 0.5% 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full Stanford University Public Policy Report

#7

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California
#2 in overall quality

University of Southern California did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Far Western US Region ranking, coming in at #7. USC is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 46 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

USC also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $29,528 for far western us region bachelor’s degree public policy students per year to attend USC.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Southern California

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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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