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2025 Best Public Policy Schools in North Carolina

2 Colleges in North Carolina
464 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$56,036 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in public policy, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #113 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Policy Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 464 degrees in public policy to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Public Policy Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Public Policy
Master's Degrees in Public Policy
Doctor's Degrees in Public Policy

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 Public Policy Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Public Policy in North Carolina

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the public policy degree levels they offer.

Top North Carolina Schools in Public Policy

1
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
288 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
6.6% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in public policy needs to look into Duke University. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Degree recipients from the public policy program at Duke University earn $13,985 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public policy from Duke University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
172 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$48,252 Median Starting Salary

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in public policy. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

Graduates who receive their degree from the public policy program earn around $48,252 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in public policy from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Best Public Policy Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Public Policy Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 86
Florida 282 13
Virginia 274 452
Tennessee 269 81
South Carolina 248 2
Kentucky 244 9
Louisiana 242 8
Mississippi 234 51
Arkansas 234 8
Alabama 233 9
West Virginia 207 23

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Public Administration & Social Service area of study, Public Policy has other similar majors worth exploring.

Public Policy Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Public Policy Analysis 464

View All Public Policy Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 473
Human Services 150
Other Public Administration 14
Community Organization & Advocacy 10

View All Public Policy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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