2023 Most Popular Public Policy Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Public Policy Master'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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Public Policy Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 118 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Public Policy program at each school on the list.
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2023 Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the public policy master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.
Top 15% Most Popular Public Policy Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found University of Chicago to be the most popular school for public policy students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 58% of the public policy majors at the school.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Georgetown University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 56% of the public policy majors at the school.
Out of the 118 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
Women make up 55% of the public policy majors at the school.
The in-demand master’s degree programs at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular public policy schools in the United States. U-M is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.
Of the 122 students majoring in public policy at U-M, 43% are male and 57% are female.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great place for public policy students working on their master’s degree. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
About 56% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 44% are male.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Of the 108 students majoring in public policy at USC, 52% are male and 48% are female.
The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for public policy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.
Women make up 61% of the public policy majors at the school.
University of Maryland - College Park ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 60% of the public policy majors at the school.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Maryland - College Park
Princeton University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public policy programs. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Of the 97 students majoring in public policy at Princeton, 54% are male and 46% are female.
University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 51% of the public policy majors at the school.
Read full report on Public Policy at University of Virginia - Main Campus
Liberty University ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
About 47% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 53% are male.
Duke University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree public policy programs. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
About 62% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 38% are male.
George Mason University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 74 students majoring in public policy at GMU, 58% are male and 42% are female.
University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for public policy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Of the 70 students majoring in public policy at UCLA, 34% are male and 66% are female.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for public policy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 55% of the public policy majors at the school.
Full Public Policy at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report
Carnegie Mellon University ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
About 73% of the students majoring in public policy at the school are women while 27% are male.
George Washington University ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Women make up 65% of the public policy majors at the school.
Read full report on Public Policy at George Washington University
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional popular schools for Public Policy students that almost earned our Most Popular Public Policy Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Brown University | Providence, RI |
| 19 | Brandeis University | Waltham, MA |
| 20 | University of California - San Diego | La Jolla, CA |
| 21 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, MA |
| 21 | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 23 | American University | Washington, DC |
Public Policy by Region
View the Most Popular Public Policy Master'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 |
Majors Related to Public Policy
Public Policy is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Majors Related 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 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.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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