2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in Illinois

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Master’s in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Illinois, there were 654 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,600 and $37,312 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 382 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Master’s in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. UIC is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree public policy students list, UIC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago

#2

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$19,154 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola University Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 12 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola Chicago are $19,154.

Read full report on Public Policy at Loyola University Chicago

#3

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$47,260 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. DePaul is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 22 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760.

Full DePaul Public Policy Report

#4

Adler University

Chicago, Illinois

#5 in overall quality

$37,732 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$42,682 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Adler University landed the #4 spot on the list. Adler is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 8 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Adler not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Adler University are $37,732, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Adler University Public Policy Report

#5

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$73,823 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #5 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 337 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree public policy students list, UChicago has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548.

Read more about Public Policy at UChicago

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’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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