2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region

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 Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region” 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 989 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,283 and $31,567 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 17 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,428 and $121,375 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 4 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

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 Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region doctor’s degree public policy students.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

Indianapolis, Indiana

#4 in overall quality

$26,013 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #1 spot on the list. Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis is a large public school situated in Indianapolis, Indiana. It awarded 4 doctorate’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

IUPUI also made our “Best Public Policy Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at IUPUI are $26,013, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full IUPUI Public Policy Report

#2

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

#3 in overall quality

$33,338 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region. Indiana University - Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

IU Bloomington did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Indiana University - Bloomington are $33,338, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Public Policy at Indiana University - Bloomington

#3

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan

#2 in overall quality

$49,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 2 doctorate’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Policy Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at U-M are $49,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Public Policy Report

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in the Great Lakes Region. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Public Policy Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548.

Full University of Chicago Public Policy Report

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy

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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