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

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

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 Pennsylvania, there were 308 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $66,300 and $48,733 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 189 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer 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.

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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania master’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in Pennsylvania

#1

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#1 in overall quality

$47,326 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$73,720 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carnegie Mellon University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 111 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Carnegie Mellon also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Carnegie Mellon are $47,326, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University

#2

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#3 in overall quality

$40,836 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 33 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania master’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, Pitt has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus are $40,836, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

#3

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

$32,960 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Elizabethtown College landed the #3 spot on the list. Elizabethtown College is located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Etown not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Elizabethtown College are $32,960, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Elizabethtown College Public Policy Report

#4

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#2 in overall quality

$24,236 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Temple University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in Pennsylvania For Those Making $30-$48k list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 34 students in 2019-2020.

Temple also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #2. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Temple are $24,236.

Full Temple University Public Policy Report

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