College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Public Policy Analysis degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 30 colleges (30 of 30 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$37,628

Graduates only, early career.$39,009 two years out.

Median federal debt

$21,000

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.59×

59% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Public Policy Analysis report early-career pay between $28,969 and $43,726 — a spread of $14,757 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $28,969 median $37,628 75th pct $43,726

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 30 colleges $37,628 $21,000 0.59×

Master's 37 colleges $58,341 $41,000 0.72×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Cornell University NY $65,965 $15,125 debt

Duke University NC $51,435 $10,500 debt

University of Chicago IL $51,165 $17,492 debt

Trinity College CT $50,564 $23,161 debt

Princeton University NJ $50,510 $10,527 debt

Dickinson College PA $50,129 —

Brown University RI $49,331 $10,000 debt

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $44,429 $21,000 debt

The University of Texas at Dallas TX $41,618 $16,750 debt

Northwestern University IL $40,701 $18,750 debt

Brandeis University MA $40,376 $25,000 debt

DePaul University IL $39,789 —

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC $39,751 $14,000 debt

Washington State University WA $39,057 —

Mount Saint Mary's University CA $37,690 —

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Public Policy Analysis, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard