2024 Best Public Policy Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region
18
Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
1,628
Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$58,681
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.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 18 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to determine which ones were the best for public policy students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,628 degrees in public policy during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Public Policy School
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
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 in the Middle Atlantic Region 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.
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Featured Public Policy Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
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Best Schools for Public Policy in the Middle Atlantic Region
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.
10 Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools in Public Policy
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 moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,217 colleges 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. Public Policy degree recipients from Princeton University get an earnings boost of about $4,139 over the typical earnings of public policy graduates.
More information about a degree in public policy from Princeton University
Cornell University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in public policy. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
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 $7,284 more than the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in public policy from Cornell University
Carnegie Mellon University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in public policy. 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. Public Policy degree recipients from Carnegie Mellon University earn a boost of about $6,035 above the average earnings of public policy graduates.
More information about a degree in public policy from Carnegie Mellon University
Graduate Certificate
Highest Degree Type
5th
Most Popular In PA
31
Public Policy Degrees Awarded
University of Pennsylvania is a good decision for students interested in a degree in public policy. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the 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
Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means GWU is a great university overall.
There were about 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 degree program at George Washington University make $12,495 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in public policy from George Washington University
Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #42 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMCP is a great university overall.
There were approximately 235 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent year we have data available. Public Policy degree recipients from University of Maryland - College Park earn a boost of around $2,554 over the average income of public policy graduates.
More information about a degree in public policy from University of Maryland - College Park
Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.
There were about 201 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent year we have data available. Those public policy students who get their degree from Georgetown University earn $12,064 more than the average public policy grad.
More information about a degree in public policy from Georgetown University
Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 8 colleges for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were about 50 public policy students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public policy program state that they receive average early career income of $59,308.
More information about a degree in public policy from American University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
3rd
Most Popular In PA
33
Public Policy Degrees Awarded
Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #79 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Pitt is a great university overall.
There were approximately 33 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in public policy from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In PA
50
Public Policy Degrees Awarded
Temple is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Philadelphia. This university ranks 11th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were about 50 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in public policy from Temple University