2025 Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in Maryland

Public Policy is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #55 most popular master's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in Maryland to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of public policy. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 123 master's degrees in public policy during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to public policy students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other public policy students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt public policy students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized public policy related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for public policy students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy Schools

The public policy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Public Policy Master's Degree Schools in Maryland.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Policy in Maryland

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in public policy.

Top Maryland Schools for a Master's in Public Policy

1

University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD

99 Annual Graduates

$65,892 Median Starting Salary

University of Maryland - College Park is a great decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in public policy. UMCP is a very large public university located in the suburb of College Park.

Soon after graduation, public policy master's recipients generally earn an average of $65,892 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in public policy from University of Maryland - College Park

2

University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD

16 Annual Graduates

University of Maryland - Baltimore County is a great decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in public policy. Located in the suburb of Baltimore, UMBC is a public university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in public policy from University of Maryland - Baltimore County

Best Public Policy Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Public Policy Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
New York	261	77
Pennsylvania	248	190
New Jersey	188	132
District of Columbia	154	310
Delaware	109	2

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Rankings in Majors Related to Public Policy

Public Policy is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Policy Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
General Public Policy Analysis	115
Education Policy Analysis	8

Majors Similar to Public Policy

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Public Administration	151
Human Services	13
Community Organization & Advocacy	1

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream. More about our data sources and methodologies.