Best Public Policy Schools Near College Park, MD (2026)

College Park, Maryland has 5 accredited schools offering public policy programs, with tuition ranging from $68,017 to $88,741 per year for indexed programs. College Park has a population of about 34,397. Median household income is $74,867 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 49.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, the top-earning public policy-related role is Economists at a median $156,750 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


Closest Public Policy Schools to College Park

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public policy programs near College Park, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from College Park city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from College Park. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score โ€” U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

University of Maryland-College Park

College Park, MD 0.8 miles from College Park
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
89.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 85%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $82,860
Avg net price $15,678/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 96%
  • Programs offered: 150

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Maryland schools on the Maryland public policy page.


Public Policy Wages Near College Park

College Park is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area (BLS area code 47900). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Maryland statewide.

Occupation Median Wage Source COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Political Scientists $156,730 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $143,921
Management Analysts $126,830 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $116,465
Economists $156,750 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $143,939
Social and Community Service Managers $101,240 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $92,966
Survey Researchers $97,780 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $89,789
Compliance Officers $100,200 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $92,011
General and Operations Managers $156,460 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $143,673
Financial and Investment Analysts $108,330 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $99,477

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.


College Park at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Population 34,397 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income $74,867 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ 49.4% Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 108.9 (above U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other College Park-Area Cities With Public Policy Programs


Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited public policy schools are near College Park, MD?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering public policy programs near College Park. The closest is University of Maryland-College Park in College Park, MD (0.8 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Georgetown University (9.6 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying public policy roles near College Park?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public policy-related roles near College Park are: Economists ($156,750), Political Scientists ($156,730), General and Operations Managers ($156,460). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Maryland statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Greenbelt instead of College Park?

Greenbelt, MD is 2.4 miles from College Park and has its own set of local public policy programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is College Park an affordable place to study public policy?

College Park’s median household income of $74,867 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in College Park while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Maryland public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.


Learn More About Public Policy Programs

Other Programs Available in College Park

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for College Park:

Data verified: September 5, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024โ€“2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.