Public Policy Analysis at Georgia State University

Georgia State's Public Policy program graduates start below both state and national medians for this field, but there's a crucial counterweight: the debt burden, while above the $22,000 national median, comes with a manageable 0.73 ratio to first-year earnings. More than half of students here receive Pell grants, meaning this program serves as an accessible entry point for lower-income students into policy careers. The roughly $49,400 median earnings by year four represents solid 17% growth, though still trails Georgia Tech's policy grads by about $1,100 at the starting gate.

The moderate sample size of graduates suggests this isn't a flagship program at Georgia State, and the 40th percentile ranking among Georgia policy programs confirms it's middle-of-the-pack for the state. That said, context matters: policy work often requires graduate degrees for significant advancement, so these bachelor's-level numbers may reflect entry-level positions where graduates land before pursuing further education. The debt load ranks in just the 5th percentile nationally—meaning 95% of policy programs carry more debt—which provides flexibility for that next educational step.

For families concerned about immediate return on investment, this won't excite you. But if your child needs an affordable credential from a diverse, urban campus with connections to Atlanta's government and nonprofit sectors, these numbers reflect reasonable value for a degree that's rarely a terminal credential anyway.