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2025 Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

3 Colleges in Virginia
228 Master's Degrees
$68,016 Avg Early-Career Salary
a master's degree in public policy is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #55 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 3 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 228 master's degrees in public policy during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Public Policy School for Your Master's Degree

Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in Virginia The public policy master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Policy Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in Virginia list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Policy in Virginia

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for public policy students seeking a a master's degree.

Top Virginia Schools for a Master's in Public Policy

1

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in public policy needs to look into George Mason University. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the public policy major at George Mason University make $6,600 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in public policy from George Mason University

2
William & Mary crest
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA
16 Annual Graduates

William & Mary is a great option for students pursuing a master's degree in public policy. William & Mary is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Williamsburg.More information about a master’s in public policy from William & Mary

3
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in public policy. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Lynchburg.

Students who graduate with their master's from the public policy program state that they receive average early career income of $58,353.

More information about a master’s in public policy from Liberty University

Best Public Policy Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Public Policy Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 208 13
Georgia 190 18
North Carolina 178 76
Tennessee 166 41
Alabama 151 7
Kentucky 147 9
Louisiana 147 0
West Virginia 112 23

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One of 4 majors within the Public Administration & Social Service area of study, Public Policy has other similar majors worth exploring.

Public Policy Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Public Policy Analysis 228

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 351
Other Public Administration 6
Community Organization & Advocacy 1

Notes and References

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