Ranked by graduate earnings

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

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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

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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. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.