2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts
14
Ranked Colleges
551
Degrees Awarded
$37,700
Avg Cost*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.
Across Massachusetts, there were 551 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,148 and $25,000 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular public policy programs in the United States.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts”.
Top 14 Most Popular Colleges for Public Policy in Massachusetts
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Harvard University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts list. Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 193 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Public Policy at Harvard University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brandeis University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts. Waltham, Massachusetts is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 185 students in 2020-2021.
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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at Brandeis
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts Amherst landed the #3 spot on the list. UMass Amherst is a public institution located in Amherst, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 57 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Public Policy at UMass Amherst
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts - Boston landed the #4 spot on the list. UMass Boston is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 25 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Public Policy at UMass Boston
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth is a public institution located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 56 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Full UMass Dartmouth Public Policy Report
With a ranking of #6, Tufts University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts list. Tufts University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Medford, Massachusetts. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, 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.
Read more about Public Policy at Tufts University
With a ranking of #6, Suffolk University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts list. Suffolk is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at Suffolk
Simmons University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts list. Simmons is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 4 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Simmons University Public Policy Report
Bentley University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts ranking. Waltham, Massachusetts is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Public Policy at Bentley
Boston University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts ranking. This large school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 3 ’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national 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.
Read full report on Public Policy at Boston University
With a ranking of #11, College of the Holy Cross did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts list. Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit institution located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%.
Full College of the Holy Cross Public Policy Report
Hampshire College landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts ranking. Amherst, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 0 students in 2020-2021.
Full Hampshire Public Policy Report
Northeastern University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts list. Northeastern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Public Policy at Northeastern
With a ranking of #12, Assumption University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Public Policy Major in Massachusetts list. Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 0 degrees to qualified ’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Public Policy at Assumption
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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