2025 Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region
8Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
931Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$56,036Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in public policy is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #113 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 8 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of public policy. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 931 degrees in public policy annually.
The public policy program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Policy rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for public policy schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Public Policy Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the public policy degrees they offer, see the list below.
It's difficult to beat University of Chicago if you want to pursue a degree in public policy. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were about 363 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year. Those public policy students who get their degree from University of Chicago earn $12,482 more than the average public policy graduate.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in public policy. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were approximately 206 public policy students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Those public policy students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor receive $9,907 more than the typical public policy grad.
BS in Business Administration - Public AdministrationProgram Name
Prepare yourself to make the decisions that best serve a community, its constituents and its economic growth with this specialized business degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in public policy. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 47 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the public policy program make around $48,558 for their early career.
Every student who is interested in public policy needs to check out Ohio State University - Main Campus. Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus. This university ranks 1st out of 91 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were approximately 32 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, public policy degree recipients generally make an average of $50,643 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were approximately 132 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Those public policy students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $7,826 more than the standard public policy grad.
Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 40 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the public policy program earn about $48,167 for their early career.
Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 5 public policy students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent data year.
Fit new strategic skills into your public service passion and goals when you earn an MBA in Public Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.
UIC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chicago. This university ranks 10th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 45 public policy students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public policy program report average early career earnings of $35,205.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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).
The public policy program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Policy rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for public policy schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
.jpg){kind=link}