2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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.
At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 3,160 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,398 and $43,194 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 70 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy programs, but they also 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
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 for a Master’s” 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 for a Master’s
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s.
Top 25 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy
Out of the 70 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Brigham Young University - Provo landed the #1 spot on the list. BYU is located in Provo, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Average graduate tuition and fees at BYU are $7,510, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Public Policy at Brigham Young University - Provo
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Trinity College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. Trinity College is located in Hartford, Connecticut and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our master’s degree public policy students list, Trinity Bantams has also earned the #17 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Trinity College are $17,830, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s. The University of Texas at Austin is a large school located in Austin, Texas that handed out 117 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our master’s degree public policy students list, UT Austin has also earned the #19 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Austin are $22,886.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 92 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Liberty University are $8,349, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Out of the 70 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 43 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison also took the #25 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Wisconsin - Madison are $25,523.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Wisconsin - Madison
American Public University System did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #6. American Military University is a private for-profit institution located in Charles Town, West Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at American Military University are $7,050, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Public Policy at American Public University System
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking. UMN Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 81 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Average graduate tuition and fees at UMN Twin Cities are $28,845, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Full University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Public Policy Report
University of Maryland - College Park did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #8. UMCP is a large public school situated in College Park, Maryland. It awarded 72 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
UMCP also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #13. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UMCP are $30,885.
Simmons University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking. Simmons University is a medium-sized school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 5 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Simmons University are $21,698, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
George Washington University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 86 students in 2019-2020.
GWU also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #10. Average graduate tuition and fees at GWU are $31,824, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #11. University of Virginia - Main Campus is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 75 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Virginia also took the #15 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Virginia - Main Campus are $32,394, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read more about Public Policy at University of Virginia - Main Campus
Loyola University Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #12. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 12 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola University Chicago are $19,154, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Temple University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this large public school handed out 34 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Temple University are $24,236.
University of Maryland - Baltimore County ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, this fairly large public school awarded 17 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Maryland - Baltimore County are $21,078.
Full University of Maryland - Baltimore County Public Policy Report
University of Utah ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, this large public school awarded 15 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at U of U are $24,695, but some majors have different tuition rates.
With a ranking of #16, University of Houston did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. Houston, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Houston are $18,689.
Walden University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Walden University are $10,716.
University of Northern Iowa did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #17. University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Average graduate tuition and fees at UNI are $22,648, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
University of Southern Maine came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking. Portland, Maine is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern Maine are $22,308.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Southern Maine
With a ranking of #20, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. UC Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 126 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UC Berkeley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Berkeley
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #21 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking. This large school is located in Norman, Oklahoma, and it awarded 23 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus are $23,236, but some majors have different tuition rates.
DePaul University landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 22 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760.
With a ranking of #23, The University of Texas at Dallas did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s list. Richardson, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at UT Dallas are $28,610, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #24. Texas A&M College Station is a large public school situated in College Station, Texas. It awarded 5 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Texas A&M University - College Station are $22,743, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Public Policy at Texas A&M College Station
Portland State University landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s ranking. Portland State University is located in Portland, Oregon and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 16 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Portland State University are $23,784, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
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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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