2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across Massachusetts, there were 562 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,833 and $39,641 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 60 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $73,213 and $99,210 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for massachusetts doctor’s degree public policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Massachusetts

#1

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts

#1 in overall quality

$50,654 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$89,530 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the #1 spot on the list. Harvard University is a large school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that handed out 24 doctorate’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Harvard not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Public Policy Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Harvard are $50,654.

Read full report on Public Policy at Harvard University

#2

Brandeis University

Waltham, Massachusetts

#2 in overall quality

$52,060 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$77,715 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brandeis University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k. Brandeis is located in Waltham, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 doctorate’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Brandeis, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Brandeis University are $52,060, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Brandeis University Public Policy Report

#3

University of Massachusetts - Boston

Boston, Massachusetts

#3 in overall quality

$36,485 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Doctorate in Massachusetts For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts - Boston landed the #3 spot on the list. UMass Boston is a fairly large public school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 15 doctorate’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UMass Boston not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Doctor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Massachusetts - Boston are $36,485, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in the New England Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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