Master's · Washington, District of Columbia

Is Public Policy Analysis at American University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $79,220; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $105,895; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $47,247; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $50k (likely $50k – $50k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $21k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in DC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.3 years (likely 4.4–10.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$79k (likely −$191k – $29k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $237k (likely −$32k – $481k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.