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2024 Best Public Policy Schools

99 Colleges in the United States
6,430 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$49,451 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in public policy, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #113 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 99 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Public Policy Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,430 degrees in public policy during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Policy School

Best Public Policy Schools Your choice of public policy school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Public Policy School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Public Policy Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Public Policy
Master's Degrees in Public Policy
Doctor's Degrees in Public Policy

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Public Policy Schools list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Public Policy in the United States

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the public policy degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

14 Top Schools in Public Policy

1
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
193 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$76,875 Median Starting Salary

Harvard University is a great option for students interested in a degree in public policy. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.

There were approximately 193 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent year we have data available. Public Policy degree recipients from Harvard University earn a boost of approximately $27,424 over the average income of public policy graduates.

More information about a degree in public policy from Harvard University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
411 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$61,143 Median Starting Salary

University of Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in public policy. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 411 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public policy major at University of Chicago make $11,692 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of Chicago

3
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
269 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$59,518 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat Duke University if you wish to pursue a degree in public policy. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.

There were roughly 269 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Those public policy students who get their degree from Duke University receive $10,067 more than the typical public policy student.

More information about a degree in public policy from Duke University

4
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
221 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
6.8% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat Princeton University if you want to pursue a degree in public policy. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Princeton is a great university overall.

There were approximately 221 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent data year. Those public policy students who get their degree from Princeton University earn $13,369 more than the standard public policy student.

More information about a degree in public policy from Princeton University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
73 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
20.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 142 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 73 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public policy major at Cornell University earn $16,514 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public policy from Cornell University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$77,523 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 114 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Public Policy degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley get an earnings boost of about $28,072 above the typical earnings of public policy graduates.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of California - Berkeley

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$64,716 Median Starting Salary

Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were approximately 75 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public policy degree program at Carnegie Mellon University get $15,265 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public policy from Carnegie Mellon University

8
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In PA
31 Public Policy Degrees Awarded

UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were approximately 31 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of Pennsylvania

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
199 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
14.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 199 public policy students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Those public policy students who get their degree from University of Southern California make $8,597 more than the standard public policy grad.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of Southern California

10
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
127 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
9.4% Growth in Graduates

Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Providence. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were roughly 127 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent data year. Public Policy degree recipients from Brown University receive an earnings boost of about $4,967 above the average income of public policy graduates.

More information about a degree in public policy from Brown University

11
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
45 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$40,701 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 45 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public policy program earn an average of $40,701 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in public policy from Northwestern University

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
190 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
6.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 190 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public policy program report average early career wages of $39,751.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
225 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
13.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 225 public policy students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public policy degree program at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor get $3,957 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
69 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$71,176 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 8 colleges for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.

There were roughly 69 public policy students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public policy major at George Washington University make $21,725 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public policy from George Washington University

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Public Policy students that almost earned our Best Public Policy Schools award.

Rank College Location
15 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
16 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
17 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
18 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
19 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
20 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
21 Georgetown University Washington, DC
22 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN
23 Trinity College Hartford, CT
24 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA

Public Policy by Region

View the Best Public Policy Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Public Policy is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Policy Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Public Policy Analysis 5,667
Health Policy Analysis 318
International Policy Analysis 245
Other Public Policy Analysis 114
Education Policy Analysis 86

View All Public Policy Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 16,905
Human Services 13,238
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

View All Public Policy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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