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Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region

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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.

2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Policy Colleges.

Top 10 Best Public Policy Schools

#1

Park University

Parkville, MO
$8,853 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Park University the best value school in the Plains States Region for public policy students. 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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of North Dakota. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list. UND is a fairly 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.

Full Public Policy at University of North Dakota Report

#3

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN
$14,148 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Capella University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, Capella University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Capella University are $14,148 per year.

Read full report on Public Policy at Capella University

$16,498 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Missouri State University - Springfield. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region 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.

Read More…

#5

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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

In addition to its great value ranking, UNI is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Public Policy at University of Northern Iowa Report

#6

St Catherine University

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

With a ranking of #6, St Catherine University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public policy students. St. Kate's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the 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

$15,896 Average Tuition & Fees

Missouri Southern State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region 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

#8

Saint Louis University

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

Saint Louis University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. Located in the city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

SLU undergraduate students pay an average of $48,824 in tuition and fees each year.

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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public school with a very large student population.

UMN Twin Cities undergraduate students pay an average of $33,818 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UMN Twin Cities also did well on our Best Public Policy Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

#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.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Kansas

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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