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Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

20 Colleges
$19,183 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$48,536 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, public administration and social service was ranked 6th in Pennsylvania. In fact, 2,116 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 20 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for public administration and social service 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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for public administration and social service majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found West Chester University of Pennsylvania to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Pennsylvania. WCUPA is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of West Chester.

WCUPA graduate students pay an average of $11,898 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

#2

Marywood University

Scranton, PA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Marywood University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in Pennsylvania. Located in the small city of Scranton, Marywood is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Marywood are $11,438 a year.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Ship is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Shippensburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Ship are $11,970 a year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

The excellent master’s degree programs at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in Pennsylvania. Located in the fringe town of Edinboro, Edinboro is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Edinboro are $12,246 a year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Millersville University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the suburb of Millersville, Millersville is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Millersville are $11,934 per year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Millersville University of Pennsylvania Report

With a ranking of #6, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the fringe town of Kutztown, Kutztown University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Kutztown University graduate students pay an average of $11,440 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#7

Alvernia University

Reading, PA

Alvernia University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration and social service students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Alvernia is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Reading.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Alvernia are $16,130 a year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Alvernia University Report

California University of Pennsylvania landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the suburb of California, Cal U is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Cal U graduate students pay an average of $12,919 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at California University of Pennsylvania

#9

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Villanova graduate students pay an average of $21,199 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Villanova also made our Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list, coming in at #3.

Read More…

#10

Lincoln University

Lincoln University, PA

Lincoln University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the suburb of Lincoln University, Lincoln is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Lincoln are $11,274 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Lincoln University

Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 6,455
Maryland 1,050
New Jersey 1,665
District of Columbia 820
Delaware 160

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 33,631
Public Administration 13,571
Public Policy 3,737
Human Services 1,277
Community Organization & Advocacy 741
Other Public Administration 295

Majors Similar to Public Administration & Social Service

Related Major Annual Graduates
Legal Professions 45,189
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 13,045
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 10,452
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 1,613

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 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 University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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