Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$34,434 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,597 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Policy Master's Degree School for You

Public Policy is the #113 most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Value Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 7 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value master's degree 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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

Best Great Lakes Region Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Public Policy

Our 2023 rankings named Loyola University Chicago the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for public policy students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Loyola Chicago are $19,894 per year.

Read More…

#2

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

The excellent master’s degree programs at DePaul University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public policy schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

DePaul graduate students pay an average of $18,341 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Policy at DePaul University Report

Out of the 7 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 per year.

UW - Madison also claimed a spot on our Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Full Public Policy at University of Wisconsin - Madison Report

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Chicago is a great value for public policy students working on their master’s degree. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

UChicago graduate students pay an average of $63,936 in tuition and fees each year.

UChicago also made our Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, coming in at #3.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Chicago

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UIC is a very large public school located in the large city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UIC are $28,468 a year.

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

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 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 #6 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at U-M are $50,464 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, U-M is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#7

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the small city of East Lansing.

Michigan State graduate students pay an average of $38,638 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Michigan State also is in the top 10% of our Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read More…

Best Public Policy Colleges by State

Explore the best public policy colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 267
Ohio 37
Illinois 536
Indiana 8
Wisconsin 29

One of 5 majors within the area of study, public policy has other similar majors worth exploring.

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 7 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.