2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 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.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

The public policy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region master’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) 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 $48-$75k list. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 12 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region master’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, WUSTL has also earned the #1 rank 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 Washington University in St Louis are $56,562.

Full WUSTL Public Policy Report

#2

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

#2 in overall quality

$28,845 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$55,577 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this large public school awarded 81 diplomas to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region master’s degree public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities are $28,845, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

#3

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$22,648 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $48-$75k. This medium-sized school is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and it awarded 9 masters’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI also took the #3 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Northern Iowa are $22,648, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Northern Iowa

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k)

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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