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2025 Best Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools

36 Colleges in the United States
2,471 Bachelor's Degrees
$46,425 Avg Early-Career Salary
Public Policy is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #121 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 36 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,471 bachelor's degrees in public policy during the <nil> academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Public Policy School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of public policy for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for public policy students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Policy Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Public Policy in the United States

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for public policy students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Policy

1

University of Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in public policy. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

Those public policy students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Chicago receive $13,632 more than the standard public policy grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from University of Chicago

2
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC

Duke University is a good decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in public policy. Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.

Those public policy students who get their bachelor's degree from Duke University make $14,076 more than the typical public policy grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from Duke University

3

Cornell University is a great decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in public policy. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those public policy students who get their bachelor's degree from Cornell University earn $31,481 more than the typical public policy student.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from Cornell University

4

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in public policy has to take a look at University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those public policy students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California make $5,978 more than the average public policy grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from University of Southern California

5
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ

Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.

Those public policy students who get their bachelor's degree from Princeton University make $27,205 more than the standard public policy student.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from Princeton University

6

Brandeis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Waltham.

After graduation, public policy bachelor's recipients usually make an average of $39,943 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from Brandeis University

7

Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public policy program state that they receive average early career earnings of $48,252.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

8

Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.

Those public policy students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor receive $3,260 more than the average public policy graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

9

Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the public policy degree program at Northwestern University make $2,133 more than the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from Northwestern University

10
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI

Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Providence.

Public Policy bachelor's degree recipients from Brown University receive an earnings boost of around $11,736 over the average earnings of public policy graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in public policy from Brown University

Public Policy by Region

View the Best Public Policy Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Public Policy is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Policy Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Public Policy Analysis 2,192
Health Policy Analysis 147
International Policy Analysis 123
Education Policy Analysis 9

Related Major Annual Graduates
Human Services 5,919
Public Administration 2,383
Community Organization & Advocacy 1,553
Other Public Administration 183

Notes and References

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