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2024 Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania

9 Colleges in Pennsylvania
488 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$58,877 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in public administration is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #60 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 9 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 488 degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration School

Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania The public admin program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for public administration schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Public Administration Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Public Admin
Master's Degrees in Public Admin
Doctor's Degrees in Public Admin

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Public Administration in Pennsylvania

The schools below may not offer all types of public admin degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Pennsylvania Schools in Public Admin

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$73,585 Median Starting Salary

University of Pennsylvania is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in public administration. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were roughly 59 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration program at University of Pennsylvania make $14,708 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Pennsylvania

2
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$63,051 Median Starting Salary

Villanova University is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in public administration. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Villanova. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Villanova is a great university overall.

There were about 114 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration program at Villanova University earn $4,174 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration from Villanova University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$60,729 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you wish to pursue a degree in public administration. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were about 17 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the public admin program earn about $60,729 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in public administration from Carnegie Mellon University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
72 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$58,158 Median Starting Salary

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration. Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #79 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Pitt is a great university overall.

There were about 72 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, public admin degree recipients typically earn about $58,158 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In PA
55 Public Admin Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 15th out of 109 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 55 public administration students who graduated with this degree at WCUPA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from West Chester University of Pennsylvania

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In PA

Located in the town of Shippensburg, Ship is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 39th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 14 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Ship in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In PA
18.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Kutztown, Kutztown University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 43rd out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 16 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Kutztown University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

8
Widener crest
Widener University
Chester, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In PA
81.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Chester, Widener is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 17th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 11 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Widener in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from Widener University

9

Strayer University - Pennsylvania is a small private for-profit university located in the suburb of Trevose. This university ranks 96th out of 109 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 10 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Strayer University - Pennsylvania in the most recent data year. After graduation, public admin degree recipients generally earn around $44,452 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in public administration from Strayer University - Pennsylvania

Best Public Administration Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Public Administration Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 333 1,826
Maryland 279 240
New Jersey 273 348
District of Columbia 188 288
Delaware 175 29

View All Rankings >

Public Administration is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Admin Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 488

View All Public Admin Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Human Services 449
Public Policy 330
Community Organization & Advocacy 40
Other Public Administration 22

View All Public Admin Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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