2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Plains States Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking.

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 Plains States region, there were 127 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,900 and $41,705 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 110 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,438 and $39,783 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered 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.

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

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 Master’s in the Plains States 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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region

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

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Plains States Region

#1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$28,845 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$55,577 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #1 spot on the list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 81 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Twin Cities, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities are $28,845, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Public Policy Report

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$22,648 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region list. UNI is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 9 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Northern Iowa are $22,648, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UNI Public Policy Report

#3

Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri

#1 in overall quality

$56,562 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Washington University in St Louis. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region. This fairly large school is located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and it awarded 12 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

WUSTL also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States 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 WUSTL are $56,562.

Read full report on Public Policy at Washington University in St Louis

• 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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