2023 Best Public Policy Schools
Finding the Best Public Policy School for You
In 2020-2021, 6,430 people earned a degree or certificate in public policy, making the major the #113 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Public Policy Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 125 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Public Policy Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for public policy majors pursuing a .
Top 15% Best Public Policy Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Cornell University the best school in the United States for public policy students. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Ithaca.
After completing their degree, public policy graduates from Cornell carry an average student debtload of $13,000.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Princeton University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Public Policy Schools list. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Public Policy majors at Princeton take out an average of $10,750 in student loans while working on their egree.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Harvard University is a great place for public policy students. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Public Policy Schools list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Public Policy Schools list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
The average amount in student loans that public policy majors at Duke take out is $10,000.
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With a ranking of #6, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for public policy students. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that public policy majors at UChicago take out is $16,683.
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Elizabethtown College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Policy Schools ranking. Etown is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown.
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With a ranking of #8, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public policy students. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Brown University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Policy Schools ranking. Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
On average, public policy graduates from Brown take out $13,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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St Catherine University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public policy programs. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.
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Loma Linda University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Public Policy Schools list. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Loma Linda.
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University of North Dakota ranked #12 on this year’s Best Public Policy Schools list. UND is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Grand Forks.
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Carnegie Mellon University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Public Policy Schools list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #14, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for public policy students. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
The average amount in student loans that public policy majors at Northwestern take out is $17,059.
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George Washington University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for public policy students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Dickinson College came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Policy Schools ranking. Located in the city of Carlisle, Dickinson is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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With a ranking of #17, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for public policy students. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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Clemson University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best public policy programs. Clemson is a very large public school located in the suburb of Clemson.
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Here are some additional great schools for Public Policy students that almost earned our Best Public Policy Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 20 | Trinity College | Hartford, CT |
| 21 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 22 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
| 23 | George Mason University | Fairfax, VA |
| 24 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA |
| 25 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
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 |
| Great Lakes |
More Public Policy Rankings
Public Policy Related Rankings by Major
Public Policy is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Majors Related to Public Policy
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Social Work | 58,326 |
| Public Administration | 16,905 |
| Human Services | 13,238 |
| Community Organization & Advocacy | 3,096 |
| Other Public Administration | 588 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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