2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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.
The Best Value Public Policy Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 125 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value programs for public policy students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 15% Best Public Policy Schools
Our analysis found Brigham Young University - Provo to be the best value school for public policy students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Provo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BYU are $6,120 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, BYU is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Park University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools list. Park University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Parkville.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Park University are $8,853 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American Public University System. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools list. Located in the fringe town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
American Military University undergraduate students pay an average of $7,360 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, American Military University also is in the top 5% of our Best Public Policy Schools ranking.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Dakota. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools list. UND is a large public school located in the city of Grand Forks.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UND are $15,037 per year.
UND excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools list.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Arizona State University - Skysong is a great value for public policy students. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the city of Scottsdale.
ASU - Skysong undergraduate students pay an average of $13,092 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, public policy majors at ASU - Skysong accumulate an average of around $22,500 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $328, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, ASU - Skysong also is in the top 15% of our Best Public Policy Schools ranking.
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Capella University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools list. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Capella University are $14,148 per year.
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University of California - Berkeley landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley are $43,980 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UC Berkeley is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools list.
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Salem State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public policy students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the suburb of Salem, Salem State is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Salem State undergraduate students pay an average of $18,480 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #9, California University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. Cal U is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of California.
Cal U undergraduate students pay an average of $15,726 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #10, Central Michigan University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. Located in the town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Central Michigan undergraduate students pay an average of $13,094 in tuition and fees each year.
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Liberty University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools list. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Liberty University are $16,160 per year.
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Missouri State University - Springfield ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools list. Missouri State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Springfield.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Missouri State are $16,498 per year.
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Clemson University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. Clemson is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Clemson.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Clemson are $38,550 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Clemson also is in the top 15% of our Best Public Policy Schools ranking.
Read full report on Public Policy at Clemson University
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Ohio University - Athens Campus ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools list. OHIO Athens is a very large public school located in the town of Athens.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at OHIO Athens are $22,810 per year.
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The University of Texas at Austin landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.
UT Austin undergraduate students pay an average of $40,996 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UT Austin also is in the top 5% of our Best Public Policy Schools ranking.
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Elizabethtown College landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. Etown is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Etown are $34,600 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Etown also is in the top 5% of our Best Public Policy Schools ranking.
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Loma Linda University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public policy students. It came in at #17 on the list. Loma Linda University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Loma Linda.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Loma Linda University are $36,412 per year.
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California Lutheran University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public policy students. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Thousand Oaks, CLU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CLU are $45,982 per year.
Full Public Policy at California Lutheran University Report
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Here are some additional great value schools for Public Policy students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Public Policy Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Norwich University | Northfield, VT |
| 20 | University of Maryland - Baltimore County | Baltimore, MD |
| 21 | University of Houston | Houston, TX |
| 22 | University of Nevada - Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NV |
| 23 | Augusta University | Augusta, GA |
| 24 | University of Memphis | Memphis, TN |
| 25 | University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA |
Public Policy by Region
View the Best Value 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 Majors for Public Policy
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.
- 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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