CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Value Colleges (www.valuecolleges.com), an independent online guide to the best values in undergraduate and graduate college education, is pleased to release the Top 50 Best Value MPA Programs of 2016 (http://www.valuecolleges.com/rankings/best-mpa-programs-2016/).
Value Colleges' Top 50 Best Value MPA Programs ranking surveys MPA degree programs accredited by the NASPAA. This survey spans the U.S. and includes a wide range of schools–from large public research universities to private liberal arts colleges. The methodology used by Value Colleges ensures that the schools in the Top 50 Best Values ranking provide students with a top quality education at a reasonable price.
The top 50 schools are ranked based on the following metrics: the average starting salary based on data from PayScale; the annual cost according to the National Center for Education Statistics; and reputation according to the U.S. News MPA 2016 Ranking.
The top three best values for 2016 are: 1) Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas; 2) University of North Carolina in Charlotte, North Carolina; and 3) North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Congratulations to these best of the Best Values, and to all the excellent institutions that made the list!
Here is the complete list in alphabetical order:
Arizona State University – Phoenix, AZ
Binghamton University – Binghamton, NY
Brigham Young University – Provo, UT
California State Polytechnic Institute Pomona – Pomona, CA
California State University, Dominguez Hills – Carson, CA
California State University Long Beach – Long Beach, CA
Carnegie Mellon University – Pittsburgh, PA
Columbia University – New York, NY
Florida Atlantic University – Boca Raton, FL
George Mason University – Arlington, VA
George Washington University – Washington, DC
Georgia State University – Atlanta, GA
Indiana University Bloomington – Bloomington, IN
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN
Mississippi State University – Starkville, MS
North Carolina State University – Raleigh, NC
Northern Illinois University – DeKalb, IL
Ohio State University – Columbus, OH
San Diego State University – San Diego, CA
San Francisco State University – San Francisco, CA
San Jose State University – San Jose, CA
Syracuse University – Syracuse, NY
Texas A&M University – College Station, TX
Texas Tech University – Lubbock, TX
University of Alabama at Birmingham – Birmingham, AL
University of Arizona – Tucson, AZ
University of Central Florida – Orlando, FL
University of Colorado Colorado Springs – Colorado Springs, CO
University of Colorado Denver – Denver, CO
University of Georgia – Athens, GA
University of Illinois at Chicago – Chicago, IL
University of Kansas – Lawrence, KS
University of Maryland Baltimore County – Baltimore, MD
University of Maryland, College Park – College Park, MD
University of Minnesota Twin Cities – Minneapolis, MN
University of Missouri – Columbia, MO
University of Nebraska Omaha – Omaha, NE
University of New Mexico – Albuquerque, NM
University of Nevada, Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, NC
University of North Carolina at Charlotte – Charlotte, NC
University of North Texas – Denton, TX
University of Southern California – Los Angeles, CA
University of Texas at Arlington – Arlington, TX
University of Texas at Austin – Austin, TX
University of Texas at Dallas – Richardson, TX
University of Texas at El Paso – El Paso, TX
University of Utah – Salt Lake City, UT
University of Washington – Seattle, WA
Wichita State University – Wichita, KS
"The complexity of government and public policy in the 21st century demands a new breed of public servant–one who possess a sophisticated understanding of how government works and interacts with private industry," says site editor Carrie Sealey-Morris. She adds, "Such an advanced level of understanding–in areas ranging from the economy to the environment–often requires a graduate degree. But the two to three years it takes to earn an MPA can pay off. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that public servants with a master's degree stand to make more than $12,000 per year more than colleagues with only an undergraduate degree."
Value Colleges is an independent, online resource with one mission: to help prospective students find the best educational value in their chosen field.
Carrie Sealey-Morris
Editor, Value Colleges
(512) 710-9901