College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid

9 Ranked Colleges
488 Degrees Awarded
$28,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Public Administration is the 60th most popular major in the country with 16,905 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $51,352 and had an average of $29,054 in loans still to pay off.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 488 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,877 and $27,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public administration. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public administration programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Admin Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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 Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania public admin students with aid.

Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration in Pennsylvania (With Aid)

1

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is a large public school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 72 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Pitt also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Pitt is $27,058 for pennsylvania public admin students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read more about Public Administration at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

2
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid list. UPenn is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 59 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

UPenn also took the #1 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $25,046 for pennsylvania public admin students with aid per year to attend University of Pennsylvania.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Read more about Public Administration at University of Pennsylvania

3
WCUPA crest
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
West Chester, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend West Chester University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid. Located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, this fairly large public school handed out 55 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.

WCUPA also made our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for West Chester University of Pennsylvania is $21,484 for pennsylvania public admin students with aid.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Public Administration at WCUPA

4
Ship crest
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid. This medium-sized school is located in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 14 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Ship not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $23,006 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students with aid per year to attend Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.8% 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 Public Administration at Ship

5
Carnegie Mellon crest
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Carnegie Mellon University landed the #5 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 17 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Carnegie Mellon also made our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Carnegie Mellon University is $36,775 for pennsylvania public admin students with aid.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Public Administration at Carnegie Mellon University

6

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, this medium-sized public school handed out 16 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.

Kutztown University also made our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $23,227 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students with aid per year to attend Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

Full Kutztown University Public Administration Report

7
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, Pennsylvania

With a ranking of #7, Villanova University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid list. Villanova is a private not-for-profit institution located in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 114 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Villanova also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Villanova is $43,577 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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 Villanova University Public Administration Report

8
Widener crest
Widener University
Chester, Pennsylvania

Widener University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid ranking. Widener University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chester, Pennsylvania. It awarded 11 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Widener also took the #8 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $31,792 for pennsylvania public admin students with aid per year to attend Widener.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at Widener University

9

With a ranking of #9, Strayer University - Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Getting Aid list. Trevose, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Strayer University - Pennsylvania, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Strayer University - Pennsylvania is $24,298 for Pennsylvania Public Admin students with aid.

Read full report on Public Administration at Strayer University - Pennsylvania

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options