2023 Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region
7
Ranked Colleges
229
Degrees Awarded
$59,367
Avg Salary
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, veterans have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
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 the Southwest region, there were 585 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,714 and $21,641 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the public policy program at the school. 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 “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s”.
Top 7 Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M University - College Station. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s. Texas A&M College Station is a large public school situated in College Station, Texas. It awarded 15 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
Texas A&M College Station also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #4.Of the 70,418 students enrolled at Texas A&M University - College Station, 5 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 4 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,925. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Texas A&M College Station]](/colleges/texas-a-and-m-university-college-station/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s list. This large school is located in Austin, Texas, and it awarded 99 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
UT Austin not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list.Of the 50,476 students enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin, 7 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $2,893. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at The University of Texas at Austin]](/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-austin/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s. Located in Norman, Oklahoma, this large public school awarded 27 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
University of Oklahoma also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #3.Among the 27,772 students enrolled at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus, 12 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 10 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,720. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Oklahoma Norman Campus does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Houston. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s list. UH is a large public school situated in Houston, Texas. It awarded 21 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
UH not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list.Our most recent data shows that 1,382 of the 47,090 students enrolled at University of Houston were GI Bill® students, of which 730 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,264. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read More…
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #5 spot on the list. Tucson, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southwest region master’s degree vets studying public policy list, University of Arizona has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 2,131 of the 45,601 students enrolled at University of Arizona were GI Bill® students, of which 1,478 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,880. In addition to receiving other benefits, 31 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Arizona Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #6, The University of Texas at Dallas did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s list. The University of Texas at Dallas is located in Richardson, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our southwest region master’s degree vets studying public policy list, UT Dallas has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking.Among the 28,669 students enrolled at The University of Texas at Dallas, 752 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 458 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,706. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
Full UT Dallas Veteran Student Life Report
University of New Mexico - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Public Policy for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #7. This large school is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and it awarded 7 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
UNM also took the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking.Among the 22,311 students enrolled at UNM, 1 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. UNM does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at UNM]](/colleges/university-of-new-mexico-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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
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