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.
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2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Policy Colleges.
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 very large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Provo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BYU are $6,120 a year.
BYU also claimed a spot on our Best Public Policy Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on Public Policy at Brigham Young University - Provo
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Park University is a great value for public policy students. Park University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Parkville.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Park University are $8,853 a year.
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 school with a very large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at American Military University are $7,360 per 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.
Read full report on Public Policy at American Public University System
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 fairly 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.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UND also did well on our Best Public Policy Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
The excellent programs at Arizona State University - Skysong helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public policy schools in the United States. ASU - Skysong is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Scottsdale.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 per 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.
ASU - Skysong excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools list.
Read full report on Public Policy at Arizona State University - Skysong
Capella University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public policy students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Capella University undergraduate students pay an average of $14,148 in tuition and fees each year.
University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public policy students. It came in at #7 on the list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $43,980 in tuition and fees each year.
UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our Best Public Policy Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of California - Berkeley
Salem State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Salem, Salem State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Salem State are $18,480 per year.
California University of Pennsylvania ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools list. Cal U is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of California.
Cal U undergraduate students pay an average of $15,726 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Public Policy at California University of Pennsylvania
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 distant town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public school with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Central Michigan are $13,094 per year.
Liberty University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools ranking. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Liberty University are $16,160 a year.
With a ranking of #12, Missouri State University - Springfield did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. Missouri State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Springfield.
Missouri State undergraduate students pay an average of $16,498 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Public Policy at Missouri State University - Springfield Report
Clemson University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools ranking. Clemson is a very 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.
With a ranking of #14, Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. OHIO Athens is a very large public school located in the town of Athens.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at OHIO Athens are $22,810 a year.
Full Public Policy at Ohio University - Athens Campus Report
With a ranking of #15, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UT Austin are $40,996 a year.
UT Austin excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools list.
Elizabethtown College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public policy students. It came in at #16 on the list. Etown is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Elizabethtown.
Etown undergraduate students pay an average of $34,600 in tuition and fees each year.
Etown excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools list.
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.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Loma Linda University are $36,412 a year.
With a ranking of #18, California Lutheran University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. Located in the city of Thousand Oaks, CLU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CLU are $45,982 a year.
Honorable Mentions
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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