College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in Illinois

7 Ranked Colleges
303 Degrees Awarded
$58,999 Avg Salary
Schools for a Master's Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois” ranking.

Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 536 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,931 and $20,247 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 303 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,317 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. That schools that top this list have a program in public policy in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Policy Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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.

Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois

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

Top 7 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in Illinois

1
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 259 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Chicago

2
Adler crest
Adler University
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Adler University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois. Adler is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 15 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Public Policy at Adler

3
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 20 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at DePaul

4
Loyola Chicago crest
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois. Loyola University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 8 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Public Policy at Loyola Chicago

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at UIC

6
NLU crest
National Louis University
Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #6, National Louis University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 0 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Public Policy at NLU

6
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 45 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Public Policy at Northwestern University

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options