{
  "major": "Public Policy",
  "slug": "public-policy",
  "field": "Business & Economics",
  "as_of": "2026",
  "url": "https://collegeranked.com/best-public-policy-schools/",
  "source": "U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2026 release); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
  "metric_definitions": {
    "median_earnings": "Median earnings one year after graduation (Scorecard)",
    "net_price": "Average annual cost of attendance after grant aid. For PUBLIC schools this reflects IN-STATE cost; out-of-state students pay more.",
    "roi_10yr_usd": "Ten years of earnings minus four years of net price",
    "score": "CollegeRanked Score (0-100) — the composite that sets rank order; see /methodology/#score",
    "public": "true = public university (net_price is in-state basis); false = private (residency-neutral)"
  },
  "total_colleges_with_reported_data": 39,
  "shown": 39,
  "ranking": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "school": "Princeton University",
      "state": "NJ",
      "median_earnings": 73630,
      "net_price": 6128,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 711788,
      "score": 75,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "school": "University of Chicago",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 60057,
      "net_price": 14860,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 541130,
      "score": 71,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "school": "Cornell University",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 77906,
      "net_price": 28690,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 664300,
      "score": 69,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "school": "Duke University",
      "state": "NC",
      "median_earnings": 60501,
      "net_price": 29612,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 486562,
      "score": 67,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "school": "University of Michigan-Ann Arbor",
      "state": "MI",
      "median_earnings": 49685,
      "net_price": 13138,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 444298,
      "score": 67,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "school": "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill",
      "state": "NC",
      "median_earnings": 48252,
      "net_price": 11655,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 435900,
      "score": 63,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "school": "Arizona State University Campus Immersion",
      "state": "AZ",
      "median_earnings": 49753,
      "net_price": 14967,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 437662,
      "score": 59,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "school": "University of Mississippi",
      "state": "MS",
      "median_earnings": 40259,
      "net_price": 13314,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 349334,
      "score": 56,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "school": "Empire State University",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 52614,
      "net_price": 11676,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 479436,
      "score": 55,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "school": "Vanderbilt University",
      "state": "TN",
      "median_earnings": 57023,
      "net_price": 15846,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 506846,
      "score": 54,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "school": "St. Mary's College of Maryland",
      "state": "MD",
      "median_earnings": 43629,
      "net_price": 18441,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 362526,
      "score": 53,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "school": "Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus",
      "state": "GA",
      "median_earnings": 48383,
      "net_price": 12116,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 435366,
      "score": 52,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "school": "University of California-Riverside",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 39867,
      "net_price": 14304,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 341454,
      "score": 52,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "school": "Georgia State University",
      "state": "GA",
      "median_earnings": 42215,
      "net_price": 15931,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 358426,
      "score": 50,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "school": "Ohio State University-Main Campus",
      "state": "OH",
      "median_earnings": 50643,
      "net_price": 17339,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 437074,
      "score": 49,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "school": "University of Delaware",
      "state": "DE",
      "median_earnings": 36796,
      "net_price": 17799,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 296764,
      "score": 49,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "school": "Brown University",
      "state": "RI",
      "median_earnings": 58161,
      "net_price": 25184,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 480874,
      "score": 48,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "school": "Northwestern University",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 48558,
      "net_price": 29167,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 368912,
      "score": 47,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "school": "Dickinson College",
      "state": "PA",
      "median_earnings": 61592,
      "net_price": 37607,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 465492,
      "score": 46,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "school": "Hamilton College",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 56158,
      "net_price": 28985,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 445640,
      "score": 46,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "school": "University of Maryland-College Park",
      "state": "MD",
      "median_earnings": 45642,
      "net_price": 15678,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 393708,
      "score": 46,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "school": "William & Mary",
      "state": "VA",
      "median_earnings": 36703,
      "net_price": 19096,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 290646,
      "score": 46,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 23,
      "school": "Trinity College",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 56902,
      "net_price": 34832,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 429692,
      "score": 45,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 24,
      "school": "Rutgers University-New Brunswick",
      "state": "NJ",
      "median_earnings": 51082,
      "net_price": 24406,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 413196,
      "score": 45,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 25,
      "school": "Southern Methodist University",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 40434,
      "net_price": 40892,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 240772,
      "score": 44,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 26,
      "school": "University of Southern California",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 52403,
      "net_price": 32740,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 393070,
      "score": 43,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 27,
      "school": "Brandeis University",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 39943,
      "net_price": 35736,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 256486,
      "score": 42,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 28,
      "school": "Michigan State University",
      "state": "MI",
      "median_earnings": 43005,
      "net_price": 19680,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 351330,
      "score": 41,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 29,
      "school": "The University of Texas at Dallas",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 43837,
      "net_price": 18267,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 365302,
      "score": 39,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 30,
      "school": "University of Illinois Chicago",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 35205,
      "net_price": 10974,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 308154,
      "score": 39,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 31,
      "school": "Washington State University",
      "state": "WA",
      "median_earnings": 30303,
      "net_price": 14971,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 243146,
      "score": 38,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 32,
      "school": "Regent University",
      "state": "VA",
      "median_earnings": 38546,
      "net_price": 19923,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 305768,
      "score": 36,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 33,
      "school": "University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 33424,
      "net_price": 10875,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 290740,
      "score": 36,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 34,
      "school": "University of Rhode Island",
      "state": "RI",
      "median_earnings": 32536,
      "net_price": 21440,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 239600,
      "score": 34,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 35,
      "school": "University of Redlands",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 37888,
      "net_price": 30031,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 258756,
      "score": 33,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 36,
      "school": "University of Connecticut-Avery Point",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 33424,
      "net_price": 13807,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 279012,
      "score": 33,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 37,
      "school": "University of Connecticut-Stamford",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 33424,
      "net_price": 16798,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 267048,
      "score": 31,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 38,
      "school": "University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 33424,
      "net_price": 16403,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 268628,
      "score": 31,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 39,
      "school": "University of Connecticut",
      "state": "CT",
      "median_earnings": 33424,
      "net_price": 25097,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 233852,
      "score": 29,
      "public": true
    }
  ]
}