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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region

9 Ranked Colleges
216 Degrees Awarded
$22,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master's in the Southwest Region

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 for a Master’s in the Southwest Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 Southwest region, there were 536 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,050 and $23,421 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 216 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,078 and $37,227 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region” 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 the Southwest 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 Master’s in the Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region master’s degree public policy students.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Southwest Region

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the #1 spot on the list. 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.

UT Austin also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Austin are $22,886, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UT Austin Public Policy Report

#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region list. Scottsdale, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

ASU - Skysong also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at ASU - Skysong are $6,724, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at Arizona State University - Skysong

#3

University of Houston

Houston, Texas
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Houston landed the #3 spot on the list. UH is a large public school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 12 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UH not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UH are $18,689, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UH Public Policy Report

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region list. University of Oklahoma is located in Norman, Oklahoma and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 23 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

University of Oklahoma also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus are $23,236, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Oklahoma

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Dallas. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region list. UT Dallas is located in Richardson, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UT Dallas not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Dallas are $28,610.

Read more about Public Policy at The University of Texas at Dallas

#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region list. Texas A&M University - College Station is a large school located in College Station, Texas that handed out 5 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M College Station not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Texas A&M College Station are $22,743, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#8 in overall quality

The University of Texas at Arlington landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Arlington is located in Arlington, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UT Arlington not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Arlington are $23,376, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at The University of Texas at Arlington

#8

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico
#9 in overall quality

University of New Mexico - Main Campus landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region ranking. Albuquerque, New Mexico is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region master’s degree public policy students list, UNM has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UNM are $19,890, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at University of New Mexico - Main Campus

#9

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona
#4 in overall quality

University of Arizona did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #9. University of Arizona is a public institution located in Tucson, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Arizona also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arizona are $33,399, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Arizona

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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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