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2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois

10 Ranked Colleges
536 Degrees Awarded
$33,400 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended Public Policy Major 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 “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 6,430 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 113th most popular in the United States. 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.

This year’s “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular public policy programs in the United States.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Well Attended 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.

Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois public policy students.

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 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois list. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 411 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at UChicago

2
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 45 ’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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Public Policy at Northwestern University

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 27 students in 2020-2021.

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%.

Full UIC Public Policy Report

4
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois list. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 26 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.

Read more about Public Policy at DePaul University

5
Adler crest
Adler University
Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 10 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Adler University landed the #5 spot on the list. Adler is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 15 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Adler University Public Policy Report

6
Loyola Chicago crest
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois ranking. Loyola University Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 8 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Public Policy at Loyola Chicago

7
Olivet Nazarene crest
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, Illinois

Olivet Nazarene University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois list. Olivet Nazarene is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Olivet Nazarene University

8

University of Illinois at Springfield ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Springfield is a small school located in Springfield, Illinois that handed out 0 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Illinois at Springfield

8
NLU crest
National Louis University
Chicago, Illinois

National Louis University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois list. NLU is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 0 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Public Policy at NLU

8
Knox crest
Knox College
Galesburg, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, Knox College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Illinois list. Knox is a private not-for-profit institution located in Galesburg, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Public Policy at Knox College

Notes and References

References

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