🎓

Best Colleges for Public Policy Analysis

50 Public Policy Analysis programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Public Policy Analysis, Cornell University (New York) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $126,767. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$126,767	$15,125	67	94.5
2	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	Bachelor's Degree	$107,792	$10,527	120	92.4
3	Duke University Durham, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$103,071	$10,500	181	90.4
4	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Master's Degree	$116,708	—	111	86
5	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	Master's Degree	$120,163	—	89	85.5
6	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	Doctoral Degree	$129,458	—	16	82
7	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	Master's Degree	$129,978	$70,447	288	81.1
8	University of California-San Francisco San Francisco, CA	Master's Degree	$124,169	—	0	79.1
9	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$94,237	$17,492	114	77.7
10	Brown University Providence, RI	Bachelor's Degree	$94,962	$10,000	30	77.4
11	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	Master's Degree	$112,727	$78,854	217	76.2
12	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	Master's Degree	$107,692	$32,114	—	74.7
13	Duke University Durham, NC	Master's Degree	$109,274	$66,331	103	74.5
14	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	First Professional Degree	$99,408	—	—	74.5
15	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	Master's Degree	$103,268	$41,000	98	74.4
16	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Master's Degree	$107,392	$48,894	102	74.1
17	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	Master's Degree	$99,110	$37,240	94	73.4
18	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	First Professional Degree	$113,884	$55,475	—	73.3
19	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Master's Degree	$110,634	$99,635	59	72
20	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$100,925	$41,000	64	71.7
21	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	Master's Degree	$97,926	$37,996	84	71.5
22	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Master's Degree	$96,792	$30,821	129	71
23	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	Master's Degree	$96,919	—	17	69.8
24	American University Washington, DC	Master's Degree	$98,588	$54,986	63	68
25	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	Master's Degree	$96,919	—	0	68
26	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	Master's Degree	$96,919	—	0	68
27	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	Master's Degree	$96,919	—	0	68
28	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	Master's Degree	$96,919	—	0	68
29	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	Bachelor's Degree	$91,265	—	42	65.2
30	University of Mississippi University, MS	Bachelor's Degree	$85,338	$21,000	55	65.1
31	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	Master's Degree	$91,832	$35,400	48	62.6
32	George Washington University Washington, DC	Master's Degree	$94,862	$53,242	74	62
33	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	Master's Degree	$96,305	$40,464	16	60.9
34	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	Master's Degree	$89,111	$30,250	25	60.6
35	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Master's Degree	$94,114	$81,516	97	59.6
36	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA	Master's Degree	$87,730	—	18	59
37	Trinity College Hartford, CT	Bachelor's Degree	$82,638	$23,161	40	58.7
38	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Master's Degree	$84,618	$40,156	108	57.9
39	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$78,752	$18,750	47	57.7
40	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA	Master's Degree	$84,234	$22,821	15	57.6
41	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ	Master's Degree	$89,111	$30,250	8	57.4
42	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	Master's Degree	$82,435	—	49	56.7
43	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$74,403	$14,000	166	56.4
44	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Master's Degree	$84,234	$22,821	0	56.4
45	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	Master's Degree	$78,939	$20,213	39	56.4
46	Brown University Providence, RI	Master's Degree	$87,139	$47,500	93	56.2
47	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$77,862	$19,500	44	55.1
48	The New School New York, NY	Master's Degree	$89,713	$61,796	24	54.6
49	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Graduate/Professional Certificate	$89,003	$85,385	47	53.1
50	Teachers College at Columbia University New York, NY	Master's Degree	$87,221	$41,599	22	53.1

🔍 Filter Public Policy Analysis by state & degree level →

💎

Hidden Gems for Public Policy Analysis

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Public Policy Analysis — the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	University of California-San Francisco San Francisco, CA Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$124,169	—	79.1
2	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$99,408	58%	74.5
3	George Mason University Fairfax, VA Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$97,926	87%	71.5
4	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$96,919	52%	69.8
5	American University Washington, DC Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$98,588	62%	68
6	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$96,919	87%	68
7	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$96,919	88%	68
8	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$96,919	83%	68
9	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$96,919	88%	68
10	University of Mississippi University, MS Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$85,338	97%	65.1
11	Temple University Philadelphia, PA Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$91,832	80%	62.6
12	George Washington University Washington, DC Strong Public Policy Analysis outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$94,862	47%	62

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Public Policy Analysis field (CIP 44.05) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Public Policy Analysis programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Public Policy Analysis program?+

By our outcome score, Cornell University (New York) ranks #1 for Public Policy Analysis, with median graduate earnings of $126,767.

How are these Public Policy Analysis programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Public Policy Analysis programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

🔍 Public Policy Analysis rankings (filterable)🎓 All major rankings 🏫 Browse colleges 🆓 Tuition-free colleges ⭐ All Best-Of guides

Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.