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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Social Sciences in Pennsylvania

8 Ranked Colleges
101 Degrees Awarded
$22,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor's in Pennsylvania

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 19,742 people earned their degree in general social sciences, making the major the 51st most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,665 and had an average of $22,423 in loans still to pay off.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 247 general social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,825 and $22,166 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 101 general social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in general social sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general social sciences programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the general social sciences program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Social Sciences Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania” list to help you make the college decision.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania

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

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Social Sciences in Pennsylvania

#1

Lock Haven University

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Lock Haven University landed the #1 spot on the list. LHU is a small public school situated in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It awarded 12 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at LHU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Lock Haven University is $20,506 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree social sciences students.

Full Lock Haven University General Social Sciences Report

#2

California University of Pennsylvania

California, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania list. California University of Pennsylvania is located in California, Pennsylvania and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 45 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

Cal U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The yearly cost to attend Cal U is $18,154 for Pennsylvania Bachelor’s Degree Social Sciences students.

Full California University of Pennsylvania General Social Sciences Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania list. Pitt is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 15 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

Pitt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $27,938 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree social sciences students per year to attend Pitt.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Full University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus General Social Sciences Report

#4

University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania. Johnstown, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s social sciences degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Pitt Johnstown, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown is $19,712 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree social sciences students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown General Social Sciences Report

#5

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

Edinboro, Pennsylvania
#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania. Located in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, this small public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified bachelors’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Edinboro, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Edinboro University of Pennsylvania is $16,833 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree social sciences students.

Read full report on General Social Sciences at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

#6

Robert Morris University

Moon Township, Pennsylvania
#5 in overall quality

Robert Morris University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania ranking. Robert Morris University is located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s social sciences degrees to qualified students.

RMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Robert Morris University is $26,839 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree social sciences students.

Read full report on General Social Sciences at RMU

#7

Misericordia University

Dallas, Pennsylvania
#3 in overall quality

Misericordia University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania ranking. This small school is located in Dallas, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Misericordia University also made our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Misericordia University is $25,510 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree social sciences students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Social Sciences at Misericordia University

#8

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#1 in overall quality

University of Pennsylvania came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in Pennsylvania ranking. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UPenn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Social Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $25,802 for pennsylvania bachelor’s degree social sciences students per year to attend University of Pennsylvania.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Full University of Pennsylvania General Social Sciences Report

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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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