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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in Pennsylvania

10 Ranked Colleges
555 Degrees Awarded
$28,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor's in Pennsylvania

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 10,015 people earned their degree in philosophy, making the major the 81st most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, philosophy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,067 and had an average of $22,199 in loans still to pay off.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 637 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $47,000 and $25,778 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 555 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in philosophy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great philosophy programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the philosophy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Philosophy Schools

The philosophy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in Pennsylvania

#1

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania list. Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SRU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $19,926 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students per year to attend SRU.

Read more about Philosophy at SRU

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 48 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

Pitt also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend Pitt is $27,938 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Philosophy at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

#3

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

West Chester, Pennsylvania

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, West Chester University of Pennsylvania landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree philosophy students list, WCUPA has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WCUPA is $22,495 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Philosophy at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

#4

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Temple University landed the #4 spot on the list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania bachelor’s degree philosophy students list, Temple has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Temple University is $23,521 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Philosophy at Temple

#5

University of Scranton

Scranton, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Scranton. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania list. Located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 37 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

University of Scranton also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for University of Scranton is $34,374 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Scranton Philosophy Report

#6

Dickinson College

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Dickinson College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #6. Dickinson College is located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

Dickinson not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $29,452 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree philosophy students per year to attend Dickinson.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Dickinson Philosophy Report

#7

Villanova University

Villanova, Pennsylvania
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Villanova University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania list. Villanova is located in Villanova, Pennsylvania and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Villanova, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Villanova University is $41,027 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Philosophy at Villanova University

#8

Gettysburg College

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg College landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania ranking. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 19 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

Gettysburg did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $26,513 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree philosophy students per year to attend Gettysburg.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Philosophy at Gettysburg

#9

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Carnegie Mellon University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania ranking. Carnegie Mellon is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Carnegie Mellon, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Carnegie Mellon University is $34,508 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Carnegie Mellon University Philosophy Report

#10

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #10. University of Pennsylvania is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 158 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UPenn did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend UPenn is $25,802 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

The low student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Philosophy at UPenn

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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