2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 6,199 people earned their degree in public policy, making the major the 116th most popular in the United States. 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 Illinois, there were 654 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,600 and $37,312 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 382 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public policy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$73,823 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 337 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Chicago Public Policy Report

#2

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 2 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Illinois at Chicago Public Policy Report

#3

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois

$12,096 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$52,107 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend National Louis University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

NLU also took the #0 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at NLU are $12,096, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at NLU

#4

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$19,154 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola University Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola University Chicago are $19,154, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Public Policy at Loyola Chicago

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$47,260 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 22 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Public Policy at DePaul University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’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.

Featured Public Administration Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >