2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee, there were 92 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,300 and $37,495 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 34 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

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

Top 2 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

#1 in overall quality

$50,624 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$59,124 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Vanderbilt University landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 25 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanderbilt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Vanderbilt are $50,624, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Vanderbilt Public Policy Report

#2

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

$31,798 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$39,909 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, this large public school awarded 9 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee master’s degree public policy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UT Knoxville has also earned the #0 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville are $31,798, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Public Policy Report

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

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