Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region

9 Ranked Colleges
536 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest 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 in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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 Southwest region, there were 536 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,050 and $23,421 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 9 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.

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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school handed out 121 diplomas to qualified ’s public policy students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Austin, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UT Austin is $15,757 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at UT Austin

#2

University of Houston

Houston, Texas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Houston. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Houston is a large school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 12 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UH did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Houston is $12,505 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Houston Public Policy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Dallas. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UT Dallas is a large public school situated in Richardson, Texas. It awarded 51 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Dallas also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend UT Dallas is $13,797 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at UT Dallas

#4

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arizona landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Arizona is a large public school situated in Tucson, Arizona. It awarded 8 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Arizona, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Arizona is $15,399 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Policy at University of Arizona

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M University - College Station. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Texas A&M University - College Station is a public institution located in College Station, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, Texas A&M College Station has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $18,810 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Texas A&M University - College Station.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Texas A&M University - College Station

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. ASU - Skysong is located in Scottsdale, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 85 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

ASU - Skysong also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $15,891 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Arizona State University - Skysong.

Read more about Public Policy at ASU - Skysong

With a ranking of #6, The University of Texas at Arlington did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. The University of Texas at Arlington is a large public school situated in Arlington, Texas. It awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Arlington did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UT Arlington is $14,622 for Southwest Region Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Public Policy at The University of Texas at Arlington

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #7. University of Oklahoma is a large school located in Norman, Oklahoma that handed out 23 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Oklahoma also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is $21,812 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Oklahoma Public Policy Report

#8

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico

With a ranking of #8, University of New Mexico - Main Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of New Mexico - Main Campus is a large school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico that handed out 2 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, UNM has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $16,557 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus.

Read more about Public Policy at UNM

Southern Methodist University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. SMU is a fairly large school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 41 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

SMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Methodist University is $31,813 for southwest region public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full SMU Public Policy Report

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

Featured Public Administration Schools

Find Schools Near You