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2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region

13 Ranked Colleges
422 Degrees Awarded
$56,498 Avg Salary
Schools for a Master's Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 931 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,270 and $28,850 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 422 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,182 and $43,142 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. That schools that top this list have a program in public policy in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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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 Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region”.

Top 13 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy in the Great Lakes Region

1
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 217 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 99%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UChicago Public Policy Report

2
Adler crest
Adler University
Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 13 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Adler University landed the #2 spot on the list. Adler University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 13 masters’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.2% 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 Public Policy at Adler

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 102 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full U-M Public Policy Report

4
Xavier crest
Xavier University
Cincinnati, Ohio

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Xavier University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Cincinnati, Ohio is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s public policy degrees to 0 students in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Xavier University

5
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 17 masters’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%.

Read more about Public Policy at DePaul

6

Michigan Technological University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Michigan Tech is located in Houghton, Michigan and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 3 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Michigan Tech Public Policy Report

7

University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, this large public school awarded 39 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full UW - Madison Public Policy Report

8
Loyola Chicago crest
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Loyola University Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 5 masters’s public policy degrees 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 0.6% 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%.

Full Loyola University Chicago Public Policy Report

9
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #9. Michigan State University is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 18 masters’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Michigan State

10

University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 10 masters’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 University of Illinois at Chicago

11

With a ranking of #11, University of Michigan - Dearborn did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Dearborn, Michigan, this medium-sized public school handed out 0 diplomas to qualified masters’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%.

Full University of Michigan - Dearborn Public Policy Report

11
NLU crest
National Louis University
Chicago, Illinois

National Louis University ranked #11 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. NLU is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 0 masters’s public policy degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at NLU

11
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Public Policy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 47 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%. 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. 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%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Northwestern University

Notes and References

References

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