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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Great Lakes Region

9 Ranked Colleges
540 Degrees Awarded
$30,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k” 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 Great Lakes region, there were 989 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,283 and $31,567 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 540 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer 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.

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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

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 the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college 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 Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Great Lakes Region

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 337 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UChicago Public Policy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this large public school awarded 105 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at U-M are $49,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full U-M Public Policy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 43 students in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UW - Madison are $25,523, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Wisconsin - Madison

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school awarded 2 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, UIC has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Public Policy at UIC

#8 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Michigan - Dearborn landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Dearborn, Michigan, this medium-sized public school awarded 1 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

UM Dearborn also took the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UM Dearborn are $25,072.

Full UM Dearborn Public Policy Report

#6

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Michigan State University is located in East Lansing, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our great lakes region master’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, Michigan State has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan State University are $37,056.

Full Michigan State Public Policy Report

#7

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, National Louis University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

NLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at NLU are $12,096.

Read full report on Public Policy at National Louis University

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #8. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

DePaul also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full DePaul University Public Policy Report

#9

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Loyola University Chicago landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Loyola University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 12 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola Chicago are $19,154.

Full Loyola University Chicago Public Policy Report

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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.

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