ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best Public Policy Schools in the The Plains States Region

1 Colleges in the United States
88 Public Policy Degrees Awarded
$58,532 Avg Early-Career Salary

Public Policy programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.

College Factual analyzed 22 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best public policy schools.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-services-public-administration/public-policy/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-services-public-administration/public-policy/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-services-public-administration/public-policy/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-services-public-administration/public-policy/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-services-public-administration/public-policy/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-services-public-administration/public-policy/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-services-public-administration/public-policy/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 16
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 44.05), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Grad Cert - Health Policy (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Grad Cert - Health Policy (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BS in Business Administration - Public Administration" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "BS in Business Administration - Public Administration" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MBA in Public Administration" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MBA in Public Administration" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Public Health (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Public Health (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSN - Public Health (I Have a BSN)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MSN - Public Health (I Have a BSN)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Doctorate - Public Health (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Doctorate - Public Health (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Grad Cert - Public Health (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Grad Cert - Public Health (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MPH - Public Health (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MPH - Public Health (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSN - Public Health (I Have an ADN, ASN, or RN Diploma)" with relevance 0.6
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MSN - Public Health (I Have an ADN, ASN, or RN Diploma)" REJECTED (relevance 0.6)
DEBUG: Checking offer "BSW - Social Work (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "BSW - Social Work (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "DSW - Social Work (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "DSW - Social Work (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "MSW - Social Work (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "MSW - Social Work (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "PhD - Social Work (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "PhD - Social Work (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Bachelors Programs (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Doctorate Programs (I Have a Masters)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Doctorate Programs (I Have a Masters)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Masters Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.5
DEBUG: ✗ Offer "Social Work & Social Sciences Masters Programs (I Have a Bachelors)" REJECTED (relevance 0.5)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 3
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 1 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 1
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 0 offers with relevance >= 1.0
DEBUG: Backfilling with 0 offers with relevance >= 0.9
DEBUG: Backfilling with 1 offers with relevance >= 0.8

Best Schools for Public Policy in the The Plains States Region

If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the public policy degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Schools in Public Policy

1

University Of Minnesota Twin Cities tops our 2026 ranking of the best public policy schools. University Of Minnesota Twin Cities is a very large public school located in the city of Minneapolis. The six-year graduation rate is 85%. University Of Minnesota Twin Cities awarded about 62 public policy degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the public policy program make about $61,239 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $21,577 to complete this degree. Get the full public policy details for University Of Minnesota Twin Cities

2

Washington University In St Louis is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in public policy, landing the #2 spot this year. Set in the suburb of St. Louis, Washington University In St Louis is a large private not-for-profit institution. About 94% of students finish within six years. Washington University In St Louis awarded about 15 public policy degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the public policy program make about $68,303 in their early career. Washington University In St Louis graduates carry a median of $17,553 in student loans. See the full public policy program report for Washington University In St Louis

3

University Of Northern Iowa is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in public policy, ranking #3. University Of Northern Iowa is a large public school located in the city of Cedar Falls. Roughly 68% of students complete a degree within six years here. About 11 public policy degrees were awarded at University Of Northern Iowa in the most recent year. Students who receive their public policy degree from University Of Northern Iowa earn around $46,054 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $22,635 to complete this degree. Get the full public policy details for University Of Northern Iowa

ADBLOCK #173
View All Public Policy Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 22 schools evaluated.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options