2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

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 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.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) 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 $30-$48k. 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 337 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, UChicago has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548.

Read full report on Public Policy at UChicago

#2

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$27,036 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 $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 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. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036.

Read full report on Public Policy at UIC

#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 $30-$48k. National Louis University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

NLU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #0 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at National Louis University are $12,096, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Public Policy at National Louis University

#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 $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola University Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 12 masters’s public policy degrees 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 Chicago are $19,154, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Loyola Chicago Public Policy Report

#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 $30-$48k. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full DePaul Public Policy Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k)

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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