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Public Policy Master's Degree

Public Policy Master’s Degrees

A master’s degree in Public Policy is offered at 198 colleges in the United States, where you can earn amaster’s degree in Public Policy. This degree is more popular with female students, and about36% were students from underrepresented racial-ethnic groups. Also, 16.1% of Public Policy graduates were international students.

Education Levels of Public Policy Majors

In the most recent year for which data is available, 6,183 degrees were awarded toPublic Policy majors across all award levels. The following table shows the number of diplomas awarded in Public Policy at each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Certificate 4
Associate’s Degree 9
Bachelor’s Degree 2,466
Master’s Degree (this page) 3,461
Doctor’s Degree 243

Earnings of Public Policy Majors With Master’s Degrees (All Award Levels)

The U.S. Department of Education reports a median salary for graduates with amaster’s degree in Public Policy of $83,181 four years after graduation. These figures are reported program-wide, across all award levels.

This number may vary for many reasons. For instance, you may move to a location where people with your degree are rare and make more money.

Years After Graduation Median Earnings
1 year $60,429
4 years $83,181
5 years $95,174

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker (program-wide, all award levels).

Student Debt (All Award Levels)

We do not have the data to estimate the median debt for graduates with this degree.

Student Diversity

More women than men pursue their master’s degree in Public Policy. About 59.3% of graduates with this degree are women.

Gender Number of Grads
Men 1,167
Women 1,703
Gender Diversity of Master's Degrees in Public Policy

The racial-ethnic distribution of Public Policy graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity Number of Grads Share
White 1,372 47.8%
Asian 238 8.3%
Hispanic or Latino 356 12.4%
Black or African American 259 9.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 5 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 2 0.1%
Two or More Races 100 3.5%
Race Unknown 75 2.6%
International Students 463 16.1%
Racial-Ethnic Diversity of Public Policy Master's Degree Students

This degree is very popular with international students. Around 16.1% of graduates are in this category.

See the minority definition in the References below.

There are 248 colleges that offer a master’s degree in Public Policy. Learn more about the most popular below:

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

Duke University tops the list of the most popular schools in the U.S. for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. This school awarded 278 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who complete their master's degree in Public Policy here go on to a median salary of $40,669.

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor comes in at #2 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. This school awarded 235 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who complete their master's degree in Public Policy here go on to a median salary of $40,669.

#3

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Princeton University comes in at #3 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. This school awarded 227 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who complete their master's degree in Public Policy here go on to a median salary of $40,669.

University of Maryland-College Park is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. During the most recent year for which we have data, 224 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Graduates who complete their master's degree in Public Policy here go on to a median salary of $40,669.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. During the most recent year for which we have data, 198 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

University of Southern California is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. During the most recent year for which we have data, 191 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

#7

University of Virginia-Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia-Main Campus comes in at #7 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. This school awarded 189 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

University of Wisconsin-Madison is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. This school awarded 188 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

University of California-Los Angeles comes in at #9 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. During the most recent year for which we have data, 175 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

#10

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. During the most recent year for which we have data, 170 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

#11

Brandeis University

Waltham, MA

Brandeis University comes in at #11 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. During the most recent year for which we have data, 160 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

#12

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago comes in at #12 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. During the most recent year for which we have data, 152 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

The University of Texas at Austin is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. This school awarded 123 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

University of California-Berkeley is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. This school awarded 123 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

Arizona State University Digital Immersion comes in at #15 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. During the most recent year for which we have data, 119 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

#16

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University comes in at #16 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. This school awarded 118 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who complete their master's degree in Public Policy here go on to a median salary of $40,669.

Arizona State University Campus Immersion comes in at #17 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. This school awarded 113 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Data shows that graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669.

University of California-Riverside is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. During the most recent year for which we have data, 108 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Graduates who complete their master's degree in Public Policy here go on to a median salary of $40,669.

#19

American University

Washington, DC

American University is a popular choice for Public Policy majors seeking their master's degree. This school awarded 98 master's degrees in Public Policy in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who complete their master's degree in Public Policy here go on to a median salary of $40,669.

#20

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University comes in at #20 on our list of the most popular colleges offering master's degrees in Public Policy. During the most recent year for which we have data, 89 people received their master's degree in Public Policy from this school. Graduates who complete their master's degree in Public Policy here go on to a median salary of $40,669.

Public Policy Majors to Study

Major Annual Degrees Awarded
Public Policy Analysis, General 5,419
Health Policy Analysis 301
International Policy Analysis 276
Education Policy Analysis 104
Public Policy Analysis, Other 83

Below are some popular majors similar to Public Policy that also offer master’s degrees.

Major Annual Degrees Awarded
Social Work 58,176
Public Administration 13,993
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL SERVICE PROFESSIONS 11,674
Community Organization and Advocacy 2,651
Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other 518

References

The racial-ethnic minority student count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the percentage of racial-ethnic minorities.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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