2025 Best Public Policy Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

a doctor's degree in public policy is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #77 out of 306 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of public policy. Combined, these schools handed out 33 doctor's degrees in public policy to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on public policy students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other public policy students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt public policy students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized public policy related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for public policy students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Public Policy Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Public Policy in the Southwest Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for public policy students seeking a a doctor's degree.

Top Southwest Region Schools for a Doctorate in Public Policy

1

The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX

10 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat The University of Texas at Austin if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in public policy. UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin.More information about a doctorate in public policy from The University of Texas at Austin

2

Arizona State University - Tempe
Tempe, AZ

10 Annual Graduates

Arizona State University - Tempe is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in public policy. Located in the midsize city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in public policy from Arizona State University - Tempe

Best Public Policy Colleges by State

Explore the best public policy schools for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Texas	165	25
Arizona	119	6

View All Rankings >

Public Policy Related Rankings by Major

Public Policy is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Policy Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
General Public Policy Analysis	23
Education Policy Analysis	10

Majors Similar to Public Policy

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Public Administration	15

Notes and References

• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream. More about our data sources and methodologies.