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Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

10 Colleges
$49,445 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$70,372 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Chemical Engineering School for You

In 2020-2021, 836 degrees and certificates were awarded to chemical engineering students who went to a Pennsylvania college or university. This makes it the #52 most popular major in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in Pennsylvania to see which programs offered the best value experiences for chem eng students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Chemical Engineering Colleges.

Top 10 Best Chemical Engineering Schools

$14,352 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown to be the best value school for chemical engineering students who want to pursue a degree in Pennsylvania. Pitt Johnstown is a small public school located in the small suburb of Johnstown.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pitt Johnstown are $14,352 per year. After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from Pitt Johnstown carry an average student debtload of $27,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $315, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown Report

$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 #2 on this year’s Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list. Pitt is a very large public school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pitt are $20,362 a year. Chem Eng majors at Pitt take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $315, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

In addition to its great value ranking, Pitt is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

#3

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA
$58,524 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Carnegie Mellon University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon are $58,524 a year. Chem Eng majors at Carnegie Mellon take out an average of $25,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

Carnegie Mellon did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University

#4

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA
$57,470 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Lehigh University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best chemical engineering schools in Pennsylvania. Lehigh is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Bethlehem.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Lehigh are $57,470 a year. After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from Lehigh carry an average student debtload of $26,655.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Lehigh also did well on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Chemical Engineering at Lehigh University Report

#5

Bucknell University

Lewisburg, PA
$59,802 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bucknell University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the town of Lewisburg, Bucknell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Bucknell are $59,802 a year. While working on their degree, chem eng majors at Bucknell accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

Bucknell not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at Bucknell University

#6

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
$61,710 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Pennsylvania came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. 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.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UPenn is ranked #3 for overall quality for chem eng in Pennsylvania.

Full Chemical Engineering at University of Pennsylvania Report

#7

Villanova University

Villanova, PA
$59,020 Average Tuition & Fees

Villanova University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #7 on the list. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Villanova.

Villanova undergraduate students pay an average of $59,020 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Chem Eng majors at Villanova take out an average of $26,878 in student loans while working on their egree.

In addition to its great value ranking, Villanova is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Full Chemical Engineering at Villanova University Report

#8

Lafayette College

Easton, PA
$56,364 Average Tuition & Fees

Lafayette College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for chemical engineering students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lafayette are $56,364 per year. On average, chem eng graduates from Lafayette take out $19,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

Lafayette also made our Best Chemical Engineering Schools in Pennsylvania list, coming in at #4.

Full Chemical Engineering at Lafayette College Report

#9

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA
$57,136 Average Tuition & Fees

Drexel University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value chemical engineering programs. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Drexel undergraduate students pay an average of $57,136 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, chem eng graduates from Drexel carry an average student debtload of $31,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $864.

Read More…

#10

Widener University

Chester, PA
$49,706 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, Widener University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for chemical engineering students. Located in the large suburb of Chester, Widener is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Widener undergraduate students pay an average of $49,706 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, chem eng majors at Widener accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

Read More…

Best Value Chemical Engineering Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
New York 870
Maryland 285
New Jersey 394
District of Columbia 23
Delaware 108

Chemical Engineering is one of 40 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanical Engineering 46,178
Electrical Engineering 28,844
Civil Engineering 21,388
Computer Engineering 17,987
Biomedical Engineering 12,811

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 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 Mikulova.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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