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

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Master’s in the Plains States Region 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 the Plains States region, there were 127 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,900 and $41,705 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 110 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,438 and $39,783 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy programs, but they also cost less that 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 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 Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

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

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

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

#1

Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri

#1 in overall quality

$56,562 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Washington University in St Louis. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. WUSTL is a private not-for-profit institution located in Saint Louis, Missouri. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 12 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

WUSTL also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at WUSTL are $56,562.

Read more about Public Policy at Washington University in St Louis

#2

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$28,845 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$55,577 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #2 spot on the list. UMN Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 81 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UMN Twin Cities not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UMN Twin Cities are $28,845, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Public Policy at UMN Twin Cities

#3

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$22,648 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and it awarded 9 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Northern Iowa are $22,648.

Full UNI Public Policy Report

• 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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