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Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

6 Colleges
$33,947 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,423 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Policy School for You

In 2020-2021, 205 degrees and certificates were awarded to public policy students who went to a Pennsylvania college or university. This makes it the #58 most popular major in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 6 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best value programs for public policy students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for public policy majors pursuing a .

Best Pennsylvania Schools for Affordable Quality in Public Policy

$11,108 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named California University of Pennsylvania the best value school in Pennsylvania for public policy students. Cal U is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of California.

Cal U undergraduate students pay an average of $11,108 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Policy at California University of Pennsylvania

#2

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, PA
$34,600 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elizabethtown College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania list. Etown is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Elizabethtown.

Etown undergraduate students pay an average of $34,600 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Etown also took the #4 spot in our Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania rankings.

Read More…

#3

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA
$17,378 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Temple University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public college with a very large student population.

Temple undergraduate students pay an average of $17,378 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$20,362 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania list. Pitt is a very large public school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Pitt undergraduate students pay an average of $20,362 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Public Policy at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Report

#5

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA
$58,524 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 6 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Carnegie Mellon University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Carnegie Mellon are $58,524 per year.

Carnegie Mellon also took the #1 spot in our Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania rankings.

Read full report on Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University

#6

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
$61,710 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Pennsylvania landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public policy programs. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UPenn are $61,710 a year.

UPenn also made our Best Public Policy Schools in Pennsylvania list, coming in at #2.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Pennsylvania

Best Value Public Policy Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Policy Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 104
Maryland 167
New Jersey 135
District of Columbia 320
Delaware 2

Public Policy is one of 5 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Public Policy

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 33,631
Public Administration 13,571
Human Services 1,277
Community Organization & Advocacy 741
Other Public Administration 295

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 6 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to The Official CTBTO Photostream.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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