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Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

6 Colleges
$44,099 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$49,931 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Policy School for You

In 2020-2021, 536 degrees and certificates were awarded to public policy students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #60 most popular major in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 6 schools in Illinois 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.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for public policy majors pursuing a .

Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality in Public Policy

$15,603 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found University of Illinois at Chicago to be the best value school for public policy students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago

$47,808 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Loyola University Chicago is a great value for public policy students. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Loyola Chicago are $47,808 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Loyola Chicago also did well on our Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Public Policy at Loyola University Chicago Report

#3

DePaul University

Chicago, IL
$42,012 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means DePaul University is a great value for public policy students. DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at DePaul are $42,012 a year. The average amount in student loans that public policy majors at DePaul take out is $27,000.

Full Public Policy at DePaul University Report

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL
$60,963 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

UChicago undergraduate students pay an average of $60,963 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, public policy majors at UChicago accumulate an average of around $16,683 in student debt.

UChicago did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois list.

Full Public Policy at University of Chicago Report

#5

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL
$37,440 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Olivet Nazarene University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best public policy schools in Illinois. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bourbonnais.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Olivet Nazarene are $37,440 a year.

Full Public Policy at Olivet Nazarene University Report

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
$60,768 Average Tuition & Fees

Northwestern University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northwestern are $60,768 a year. While working on their degree, public policy majors at Northwestern accumulate an average of around $17,059 in student debt.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Northwestern is ranked #1 for overall quality for public policy in Illinois.

Read More…

Best Value Public Policy Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 267
Ohio 37
Indiana 8
Wisconsin 29

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

Majors Similar 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 6 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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