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2024 Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region

7 Colleges in the Plains States Region
144 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$50,368 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 reviewed 7 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of public policy. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 144 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 in the Plains States Region 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 in the Plains States 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.

Best Schools for Public Policy in the Plains States 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.

Top Plains States Region Schools in Public Policy

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
71 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$56,210 Median Starting Salary

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in public policy. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #51 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.

There were roughly 71 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public policy degree program at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities earn $5,843 more than the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MO
57.1% Growth in Graduates

Washington University in St Louis is a great choice for students interested in a degree in public policy. WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were about 28 public policy students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public policy from Washington University in St Louis

3
St. Kate's crest
St Catherine University
Saint Paul, MN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In MN
16.7% Growth in Graduates

St Catherine University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in public policy. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Paul. This university ranks 16th out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were about 6 public policy students who graduated with this degree at St. Kate's in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public policy from St Catherine University

4
SLU crest
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In MO

Any student who is interested in public policy needs to check out Saint Louis University. Located in the city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were roughly 1 public policy students who graduated with this degree at SLU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public policy from Saint Louis University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IA

UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls. This university ranks 4th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 1 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of Northern Iowa

5
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In KS

Located in the small city of Lawrence, KU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means KU is a great university overall.

There were about 1 public policy students who graduated with this degree at KU in the most recent data year.

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

6
Capella University crest
Capella University
Minneapolis, MN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MN

Capella University is a very large private for-profit university located in the city of Minneapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #145 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Capella University is a great university overall.

There were about 8 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Capella University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public policy from Capella University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MO
80.0% Growth in Graduates

Missouri Southern is a small public university located in the small city of Joplin. This university ranks 30th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were roughly 5 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Missouri Southern in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public policy from Missouri Southern State University

9
Walden University crest
Walden University
Minneapolis, MN

Walden University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the city of Minneapolis.

There were approximately 12 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Walden University in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the public policy program make around $44,525 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in public policy from Walden University

Best Public Policy Colleges by State

Explore the best public policy schools for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 92
Missouri 283 37
Kansas 266 1
Iowa 264 1
Nebraska 238 0

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 129
Health Policy Analysis 9
International Policy Analysis 6

View All Public Policy Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Human Services 1,464
Public Administration 1,304
Community Organization & Advocacy 179
Other Public Administration 6

View All Public Policy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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