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Best Value Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools

2023 Best Value Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

49 Colleges
$35,453 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$38,098 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Policy Bachelor'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 Value Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 49 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree 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 10 Best Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Arizona State University - Skysong to be the best value school for public policy students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 per year. Public Policy majors at ASU - Skysong take out an average of $23,530 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $328, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, ASU - Skysong also did well on our Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#2

Augusta University

Augusta, GA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Augusta University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public policy schools in the United States. Augusta University is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Augusta.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Augusta University are $24,400 a year.

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#3

St Catherine University

Saint Paul, MN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Catherine University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Saint Paul.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at St. Kate’s are $35,532 a year.

Full Public Policy at St Catherine University Report

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Missouri Southern State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Missouri Southern is a small public school located in the city of Joplin.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Missouri Southern are $15,896 per year.

Read full report on Public Policy at Missouri Southern State University

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#5

SUNY Empire State College

Saratoga Springs, NY

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend SUNY Empire State College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Saratoga Springs, SUNY Empire is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SUNY Empire are $17,540 a year. Public Policy majors at SUNY Empire take out an average of $31,478 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

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Central Washington University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Ellensburg, CWU is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CWU are $25,213 per year.

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#7

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public policy programs. Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.

Cornell undergraduate students pay an average of $61,015 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, public policy graduates from Cornell carry an average student debtload of $12,903.

Cornell excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.

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#8

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public policy programs. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Virginia Tech are $33,857 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, public policy majors at Virginia Tech accumulate an average of around $21,905 in student debt.

Virginia Tech excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.

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#9

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Princeton University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree public policy programs. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Princeton are $56,010 per year.

Princeton excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 1% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.

UNC Chapel Hill undergraduate students pay an average of $36,891 in tuition and fees each year. Public Policy majors at UNC Chapel Hill take out an average of $14,964 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $271.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UNC Chapel Hill also did well on our Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Public Policy at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

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Public Policy by Region

View the Best Value Public Policy Bachelor'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

Public Policy is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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