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Major · Public Administration

An elite-school bachelor’s for policy and analyst tracks

Public Policy Analysis, General (CIP 44.0501) is a bachelor’s-only major training students in policy analysis, cost-benefit reasoning, and quantitative public-policy methods. About 1,905 students complete it across 97 institutions — heavily concentrated at elite research universities — with bachelor’s grads earning $74,288.

Schools offering
97
Annual completions
1,905
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$74k

About this major

Public Policy Analysis, General (CIP 44.0501) is a bachelor’s-only major preparing students for policy-analyst, research-assistant, and policy-research roles in government, think tanks, consulting, and nonprofits. The CIP definition organizes coursework around the systematic analysis of public-policy issues and decision processes — economic and political factors in public decision-making and policy formulation, microeconomic analysis of policy issues, resource allocation and decision modeling, cost-benefit analysis, statistical methods, and applications to specific policy topics. Most accredited programs require a quantitative-methods core (calculus, statistics, econometrics, regression analysis) alongside seminar-style upper-division electives in health policy, environmental policy, education policy, urban policy, or social policy.

The major fits students drawn to applied analytical work on public-sector questions and the disciplined use of evidence in policy debates. It rewards comfort with quantitative methods, careful policy writing for non-technical audiences, and the willingness to specialize across policy areas. Day-to-day at bachelor’s entry looks like literature review, data cleaning and analysis (R, Stata, Python), policy memo writing, evaluation methodology design, and supporting senior researchers at think tanks, federal contractors, or university research centers.

One grounded observation about scale and earnings: 1,905 students complete this CIP across just 97 institutions — the program is heavily concentrated at elite research universities. Duke (142), Princeton (130), UCLA (112), UVA (98), and University of Maryland (93) lead, with strong pipelines into D.C. think tanks, federal agencies, and policy-research consulting. Bachelor’s grads earn $74,288 — strong for a public-affairs credential — and Social science research assistants ($58,040, 4.4% growth, bachelor’s as typical credential) anchor entry-level pay. The named Political scientist occupation at $139,380 is master’s-required and projected to decline 3.1% (a small-occupation effect, not a field collapse). Most senior-policy-analyst trajectories include an MPP or MPA, with bachelor’s + 2-5 years of analyst experience as the common application profile.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Social science research assistants $58k +4.4% Bachelor's degree
Legislators $45k +3.4% Bachelor's degree
Political science teachers, postsecondary $95k +2.0% Doctoral or professional degree
Political scientists $139k -3.1% Master's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$74k

Who this major is for

Good signs this major fits: you’re drawn to applied analytical work on public-sector questions, you’re comfortable with quantitative methods (calculus, econometrics, statistics) and willing to learn R, Stata, or Python in the curriculum, and you can specialize across at least one policy area (health, education, environment, urban, social). The bachelor’s pays $74,288 in the data, and elite-research-university programs at Duke’s Sanford, Princeton’s SPIA, UMich’s Ford School, and similar institutions feed strong D.C. think tank and federal-agency pipelines. Plan on a master’s (MPP or MPA) within 5-7 years if your goal is senior policy-analyst or leadership work.

Reasons to pause: this CIP is heavily concentrated at well-resourced research universities — top producers are Duke, Princeton, UCLA, UVA — and admission is selective. If you can’t access those institutions, a Political Science (CIP 45.1001), Economics, or Public Administration (44.0401) bachelor’s at a regional state university with applied-policy electives may produce comparable outcomes at lower cost. The named Political scientist occupation at $139,380 is master’s-required and a small declining occupation, so don’t treat that wage as an entry-level destination. The Legislators role at $44,810 is a structural artifact of how legislative roles are measured — entry-level policy work is closer to research-assistant, federal Pathways, or think-tank analyst pay.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Public Policy Analysis, General

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Duke University Durham, NC 0 142 142
Princeton University Princeton, NJ 0 130 130
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 112 112
University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA 0 98 98
University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD 0 93 93
Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ 0 88 88
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 0 87 87
University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA 0 84 84
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 0 77 77
Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ 0 75 75
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Political Science and Government, General

36,654 completions/yr

Public Health, General

10,951 completions/yr

International Relations and Affairs

6,344 completions/yr

Political Science and Government, Other

769 completions/yr

Political Economy

231 completions/yr

National Security Policy Studies

210 completions/yr

American Government and Politics (United States)

168 completions/yr

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

145 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does a public policy analysis major actually study?
Coursework spans microeconomic theory applied to policy questions, statistics and econometrics, cost-benefit analysis, decision modeling, public-policy research methods, and applications to specific topic areas (health policy, environmental policy, education policy, social policy). The CIP definition emphasizes the analytical and decision-modeling side over the management side. Most programs require quantitative coursework rivaling an economics minor — calculus, statistics, regression analysis — alongside seminar-style policy-area electives.
What jobs do graduates land at the bachelor’s level?
Common bachelor’s-entry destinations include Social science research assistant ($58,040, 4.4% growth, bachelor’s) at think tanks, federal contractors, and university research centers; legislative aide and committee research-assistant roles on Capitol Hill or in state legislatures; entry-level policy analyst at federal agencies (often via the Pathways or PMF-leadup programs); consulting analyst at firms like Mathematica, Abt, RAND, or Urban Institute; and grant-writer or program-evaluation roles at nonprofits.
Should I plan on getting a master’s?
If you want senior policy-analyst, agency-leadership, or independent-policy-shop roles, yes. The Master of Public Policy (MPP) or Master of Public Affairs (MPA) is the field’s expected credential. Many bachelor’s graduates work 2-5 years first to clarify policy-area focus and accumulate field experience before applying. The bachelor’s pays $74,288 and sustains a meaningful analyst career; the master’s opens the door to leadership and independent analysis work.
How does this compare to Political Science (CIP 45.1001) or Economics?
Political Science is broader and more theoretical — political behavior, institutions, comparative government, theory — with less analytical-method depth. Economics provides deeper quantitative methods but less policy-context content. Public Policy Analysis sits between them with a stronger applied-policy orientation. If you want flexibility across academic, journalistic, or international relations tracks, Political Science is broader. If you’re committed to applied policy analysis, this CIP is more direct.
Why is the Political scientist occupation declining?
BLS projects -3.1% growth for Political scientists (19-3094), which is a small federal-and-think-tank occupation. The named role pays $139,380 with a master’s as typical credential. Read the decline as a small base effect — federal political-scientist hiring is sensitive to administration-level priorities — rather than a field collapse. Adjacent paths (research assistant, program evaluator, policy analyst at agencies) hire more steadily and don’t carry the same SOC label.
Where are the strongest programs concentrated?
Elite research universities dominate: Duke (142 completions), Princeton (130), UCLA (112), University of Virginia (98), University of Maryland (93), Arizona State Tempe (88), UNC Chapel Hill (87), UC Riverside (84), and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (77). The top of the producer list reflects how concentrated this CIP is at well-resourced policy schools — Princeton’s SPIA, Duke’s Sanford School, UVA, UMich Ford School. Strong pipelines into D.C. think tanks and federal agencies follow from these schools.