by our College Data Analytics Team
[Public Policy](/majors/social-services-public-administration/public-policy/) programs reward a close look at where graduates go on to earn the most. The highest-paying schools turn a public policy degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 4 schools on the early-career earnings of their public policy graduates.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools send public policy graduates into the highest-paying careers, see the list below.
Harvard University tops our 2026 list of the highest-paying public policy schools in Massachusetts. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard University is a private not-for-profit institution. Students who complete the public policy program here go on to a median salary of roughly $134,992.
Strong graduate earnings at Brandeis University earned it the #2 place for public policy. Set in the city of Waltham, Brandeis University is a private not-for-profit institution. Early-career public policy graduates from Brandeis University make a median of around $78,433 per year.
Strong graduate earnings at University Of Massachusetts Dartmouth earned it the #3 place for public policy. University Of Massachusetts Dartmouth is a public school located in the suburb of North Dartmouth. After graduating, public policy degree recipients from University Of Massachusetts Dartmouth typically earn about $67,722 annually.
A rank of #4 makes University Of Massachusetts Amherst one of the highest-paying schools for public policy. Located in the city of Amherst, University Of Massachusetts Amherst is a public institution. Public Policy graduates of University Of Massachusetts Amherst earn a median of about $50,929 a year early in their careers.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology measures the salaries public policy graduates go on to earn early in their careers, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 4 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
More about our data sources and methodologies.