2023 Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Public Policy Master's Degree 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 73 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for public policy majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 10 Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Princeton University the best school in the United States for public policy students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Out of the 73 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for public policy students working on their master’s degree. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Duke University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public policy schools in the United States. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
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Elizabethtown College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Etown is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown.
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Georgetown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public policy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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Brown University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public policy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the 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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George Washington University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Here are some additional great schools for Public Policy students that almost earned our Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 12 | Trinity College | Hartford, CT |
| 13 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 14 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
Public Policy by Region
View the Best Public Policy Master's Degree 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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