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Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

13 Colleges
$27,567 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$50,368 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Policy School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, public policy was ranked #113 in the country. In fact 6,430 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 13 schools in the Plains States Region 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 10 Best Public Policy Schools

#1

Park University

Parkville, MO
$8,853 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Park University to be the best value school for public policy students who want to pursue a degree in the Plains States Region . Park University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Parkville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Park University are $8,853 per year.

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#2

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND
$15,037 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of North Dakota is a great value for public policy students. UND is a large public school located in the city of Grand Forks.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UND are $15,037 a year.

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#3

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN
$14,148 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Capella University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Capella University are $14,148 a year.

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$16,498 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 13 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Missouri State University - Springfield landed the # 4 spot on the list. Missouri State is a very large public school located in the city of Springfield.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Missouri State are $16,498 a year.

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#5

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

UNI undergraduate students pay an average of $19,753 in tuition and fees each year.

UNI excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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#6

St Catherine University

Saint Paul, MN
$35,532 Average Tuition & Fees

St Catherine University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.

St. Kate’s undergraduate students pay an average of $35,532 in tuition and fees each year.

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$15,896 Average Tuition & Fees

Missouri Southern State University 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. Missouri Southern is a small public school located in the small city of Joplin.

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

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#8

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, MO
$48,824 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, Saint Louis University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. Located in the large city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SLU are $48,824 per year.

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With a ranking of #9, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UMN Twin Cities are $33,818 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UMN Twin Cities is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list.

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#10

University of Kansas

Lawrence, KS
$28,034 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Kansas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for public policy students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Lawrence, KU is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at KU are $28,034 a year.

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Best Public Policy Colleges by State

Explore the best public policy schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 43
Minnesota 97
Kansas 1
Iowa 1
Nebraska 0
North Dakota 2

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 13 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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