Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

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

8 Ranked Colleges
216 Degrees Awarded
$22,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master's in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 the Southwest region, there were 536 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,050 and $23,421 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 216 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,078 and $37,227 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered 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.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the public policy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

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 the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in the Southwest Region

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the #1 spot on the list. Austin, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 117 students in 2019-2020.

UT Austin also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Austin are $22,886, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Public Policy at UT Austin

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M University - College Station. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in College Station, Texas, and it awarded 5 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M College Station also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at Texas A&M University - College Station are $22,743, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at Texas A&M College Station

#3

University of Houston

Houston, Texas
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Houston. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UH is located in Houston, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UH not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UH are $18,689, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at UH

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Dallas landed the #4 spot on the list. UT Dallas is a large public school situated in Richardson, Texas. It awarded 17 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Dallas did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Dallas are $28,610.

Read full report on Public Policy at UT Dallas

#5

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Tucson, Arizona, and it awarded 8 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region master’s degree public policy students whose families make $0-$30k list, University of Arizona has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arizona are $33,399, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full University of Arizona Public Policy Report

#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, The University of Texas at Arlington did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UT Arlington is a large public school situated in Arlington, Texas. It awarded 1 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Arlington also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #8. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Arlington are $23,376.

Read more about Public Policy at UT Arlington

#3 in overall quality

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Norman, Oklahoma is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Oklahoma, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Oklahoma are $23,236, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Public Policy Report

#8

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico
#9 in overall quality

University of New Mexico - Main Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. UNM is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UNM also took the #9 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of New Mexico - Main Campus are $19,890, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of New Mexico - Main Campus

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Southwest Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and it awarded 1 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

ASU - Skysong not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at ASU - Skysong are $6,724.

Read more about Public Policy at ASU - Skysong

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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

Featured Public Administration Schools

Find Schools Near You