At a glance · All states

  • 73 colleges nationwide offer a bachelor's public policy analysis program; every one of them awarded the degree in 2022-23 (federal IPEDS completions).
  • Largest programs by graduates in 2022-23: Duke University (128), Princeton University (114), University of California-Los Angeles (111).
  • 7 of them are in California, the one state whose public systems (the University of California and the CSU) publish an admit rate into the major.
  • Lowest average net price with aid: Princeton University, $6,128 per year.

Only the University of California and the CSU publish an admit rate into a major, so most colleges here show no program admit rate. A blank rate is not an open door. It means the college does not report one, and your student is applying against the campus admit rate instead. Admits are not enrollees. At most UC programs students are admitted to the campus, not the major. This page as JSON → · California only (7 colleges, with the UC and CSU gates) →

Lowest net price with aid

$6,128
Princeton University
average for aid recipients, per year

Every college, one row each

Colleges with a reported gate into the program come first, hardest first; the rest are sorted by earnings, then by graduates. Degree awarded is the program the college conferred bachelor's degrees in during 2022-23, with the number of graduates (federal IPEDS completions). Program admit rate is the college system's own number for this major (UC Information Center, CSU Chancellor's Office). Net price is the average paid by aid recipients; full price is the cost of attendance. Earnings are federal College Scorecard medians four years after the degree.

College Gate into the program Degree awarded
· graduates 2022-23
Program
admit rate
Campus
admit rate
Net price
with aid
Full
price
Earnings
4 yrs out
Duke University
NC · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
128 graduates
— 7% $29,612 $87,072 —
Princeton University
NJ · Private nonprofit · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
114 graduates
— 4% $6,128 $84,040 —
University of California-Los Angeles
CA · Public · Test-blind
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
111 graduates
— 11% $12,548 $38,614 —
University of Maryland-College Park
MD · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
101 graduates
— 45% $15,678 $29,299 —
Arizona State University Campus Immersion
AZ · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
96 graduates
— 90% $14,967 $30,111 —
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
NC · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
88 graduates
— 19% $11,655 $26,055 —
Arizona State University Digital Immersion
AZ · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
85 graduates
— 64% — — —
University of Virginia-Main Campus
VA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
81 graduates
— 17% $21,565 $39,926 —
University of California-Riverside
CA · Public · Test-blind
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
79 graduates
— 88% $14,304 $38,942 —
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
MI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
77 graduates
— 18% $13,138 $34,654 —
Empire State University
NY · Public
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
59 graduates
— — $11,676 — —
University of Mississippi
MS · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
56 graduates
— 98% $13,314 $28,660 —
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
VA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
53 graduates
— 57% $24,953 $36,951 —
University of Chicago
IL · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
44 graduates
— 5% $14,860 $90,360 —
University of Southern California
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
41 graduates
— 10% $32,740 $90,300 —
Cornell University
NY · Private nonprofit · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
38 graduates
— 8% $28,690 $88,140 —
Georgia State University
GA · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
38 graduates
— 62% $15,931 $28,241 —
Northwestern University
IL · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
36 graduates
— 7% $29,167 $91,250 —
William & Mary
VA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
36 graduates
— 33% $19,096 $43,035 —
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
GA · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
35 graduates
— 16% $12,116 $28,167 —
Trinity College
CT · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
31 graduates
— 34% $34,832 $87,840 —
University at Albany
NY · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
29 graduates
— 70% $17,167 $28,802 —
University of Delaware
DE · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
29 graduates
— 65% $17,799 $30,952 —
University of Rhode Island
RI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
28 graduates
— 77% $21,440 $34,321 —
University of Illinois Chicago
IL · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
27 graduates
— 78% $10,974 $27,521 —
Ohio State University-Main Campus
OH · Public · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
26 graduates
— 51% $17,339 $30,305 —
Regent University
VA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
20 graduates
— 41% $19,923 $32,838 —
Southern Methodist University
TX · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
17 graduates
— 61% $40,892 $85,606 —
Rice University
TX · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
16 graduates
— 8% $13,370 $79,788 —
Stanford University
CA · Private nonprofit · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
16 graduates
— 4% $13,807 $87,833 —
Hamilton College
NY · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
15 graduates
— 12% $28,985 $84,230 —
Pomona College
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
15 graduates
— 7% $19,285 $85,300 —
Michigan State University
MI · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
14 graduates
— 84% $19,680 $32,198 —
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
NJ · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
14 graduates
— 65% $24,406 $36,993 —
Brown University
RI · Private nonprofit · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
12 graduates
— 5% $25,184 $87,648 —
Dallas Baptist University
TX · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
12 graduates
— 91% $28,516 $52,716 —
Vanderbilt University
TN · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
12 graduates
— 6% $15,846 $89,590 —
Mercer University
GA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
11 graduates
— 66% $23,847 $58,204 —
Oregon State University
OR · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
10 graduates
— 79% $19,604 $31,653 —
St Catherine University
MN · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
10 graduates
— 94% $19,764 $60,476 —
University of Redlands
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
9 graduates
— 81% $30,031 $76,630 —
The University of Texas at Dallas
TX · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
8 graduates
— 66% $18,267 $29,807 —
Claremont McKenna College
CA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
7 graduates
— 11% $28,849 $86,500 —
University of Denver
CO · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
7 graduates
— 71% $36,131 $78,476 —
University of Kentucky
KY · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
7 graduates
— 92% $18,851 $34,391 —
University of Pennsylvania
PA · Private nonprofit · Required
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
6 graduates
— 6% $28,699 $89,028 —
Washington State University
WA · Public · Test-blind
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
5 graduates
— 85% $14,971 $27,648 —
Knox College
IL · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
4 graduates
— 71% $24,595 $68,134 —
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg
PA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
4 graduates
— 96% $23,330 $32,521 —
St. Mary's College of Maryland
MD · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
4 graduates
— 75% $18,441 $31,865 —
Carnegie Mellon University
PA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
3 graduates
— 11% $31,944 $83,654 —
DePaul University
IL · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
3 graduates
— 74% $30,902 $63,052 —
Emory University
GA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
3 graduates
— 11% $22,585 $83,622 —
Young Harris College
GA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
3 graduates
— 64% $22,034 $48,301 —
Albion College
MI · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
2 graduates
— 83% $14,301 $69,986 —
Bentley University
MA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
2 graduates
— 48% $37,930 $79,548 —
Chatham University
PA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
2 graduates
— 70% $29,954 $61,261 —
State University of New York at Cortland
NY · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
2 graduates
— 51% $22,345 $28,108 —
Thiel College
PA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
2 graduates
— 71% $22,347 $53,202 —
Trevecca Nazarene University
TN · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
2 graduates
— 70% $16,813 $41,548 —
University of Saint Joseph
CT · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
2 graduates
— 80% $27,989 $59,900 —
Albright College
PA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 86% $20,024 $43,711 —
Anderson University
SC · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 53% $23,544 $50,192 —
Central Washington University
WA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 90% $18,476 $28,816 —
Earlham College
IN · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 74% $24,714 $67,684 —
Hampshire College
MA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 70% $24,034 $74,195 —
Montclair State University
NJ · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 87% $15,566 $28,305 —
Oakwood University
AL · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 50% $25,669 $40,176 —
Rochester Institute of Technology
NY · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 71% $34,906 $74,626 —
Saint Peter's University
NJ · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 90% $12,199 $50,272 —
Saint Vincent College
PA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 59% $23,510 $56,752 —
Susquehanna University
PA · Private nonprofit · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 79% $28,819 $75,410 —
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg
PA · Public · Test-optional
Not reported by the college system
Public Policy Analysis, General
1 graduate
— 98% $17,945 $30,141 —

Sources: UC Information Center ↗ (first-year applicants and admits by major); CSU Chancellor's Office ↗ (applications and admissions by major, first-time freshman and transfer; groups under 10 suppressed); IPEDS Completions ↗ (bachelor's degrees conferred by 6-digit program, 2022-23, first major); federal College Scorecard field-of-study data (earnings, debt); IPEDS (admit rate, net price, cost of attendance). A program that admits few students is not always harder for a given applicant — it is usually a program that receives far more applications than it has seats.

Let an AI build the list from this page

Paste this into Claude or ChatGPT

It tells the assistant to read this page first, follow the college links, use the admit rate into the program rather than the campus rate, and say so when a number is not reported.

Use highschoolreach.com as your only source. Start at https://highschoolreach.com/majors/public-policy-analysis, then open each college profile it links to. Build a reach / match / likely list for a public policy analysis applicant in the US using the admit rate INTO THE PROGRAM where the page reports one, not the campus rate. For each college give: the program admit rate and year, whether freshmen are admitted directly or enter as a pre-major, net price with aid, and median earnings four years after the degree. Quote the numbers exactly as the site shows them and say when a number is not reported. Do not use any other source.

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The list is where the work starts

With 73 colleges awarding this degree, the work is narrowing the list rather than finding one: start with the colleges in your state, look up the net price at each, and compare what graduates earn where the federal data reports it. Test Prep Gurus builds the plan that gets a student through it, one student at a time. prepgurus.com · 949.229.5359