1
by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,484 degrees awarded in 2021-2022. In , public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $32,327 in loans still to pay off.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,577 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,724 and $23,030 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major” ranking analyzed 108 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their public policy program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major” list to help you make the college 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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree public policy students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Princeton University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major list. Princeton University is a medium-sized school located in Princeton, New Jersey that handed out 120 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Trinity College. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major. Trinity Bantams is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Hartford, Connecticut. It awarded 40 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brandeis University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major. Brandeis University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Waltham, Massachusetts. It awarded 111 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bennington College. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major. Bennington is located in Bennington, Vermont and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Gettysburg College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 26 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%.
Siena College ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major list. Located in Loudonville, New York, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%.
Barnard College landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. Barnard College is a small school located in New York, New York that handed out 19 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.3% 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%.
Hamilton College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. Hamilton is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Clinton, New York. It awarded 21 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
With a ranking of #10, Duke University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major list. This fairly large school is located in Durham, North Carolina, and it awarded 181 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
SUNY Empire State College landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. SUNY Empire State College is a medium-sized public school situated in Saratoga Springs, New York. It awarded 82 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Dickinson College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. Dickinson is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It awarded 3 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Pomona College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking, coming in at #13. Pomona is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Brown University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking, coming in at #14. Brown University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Providence, Rhode Island. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
With a ranking of #15, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major list. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large public school situated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It awarded 166 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Public Policy Report
William & Mary did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking, coming in at #16. William & Mary is a medium-sized school located in Williamsburg, Virginia that handed out 52 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
St Mary’s College of Maryland came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. Located in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, this small public school awarded 10 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #18, Washington & Jefferson College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major list. Washington & Jefferson College is located in Washington, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Public Policy at Washington & Jefferson College
Regent University ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major list. Located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 23 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Chicago landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. University of Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 114 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 99%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Rice University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. Rice University is located in Houston, Texas and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 33 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
University of California - Riverside landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public policy degrees to 91 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%.
Southern Methodist University landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Dallas, Texas, and it awarded 44 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
With a ranking of #24, Susquehanna University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major list. This small school is located in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Redlands did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major ranking, coming in at #25. Located in Redlands, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 21 degrees to qualified bachelors’s public policy students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 more about our data sources and methodologies
.jpg){kind=link}