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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

8 Colleges
$25,174 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$69,877 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 3,560 degrees and certificates were awarded to public administration and social service students who went to a Pennsylvania college or university. This makes it the #13 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Public & Social Service Doctor's Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in Pennsylvania to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for public administration and social service students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

Best Pennsylvania Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Public & Social Service

Our 2023 rankings named West Chester University of Pennsylvania the best value school in Pennsylvania for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. WCUPA is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of West Chester.

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

WCUPA excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at West Chester University of Pennsylvania Report

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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania 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 town of Kutztown, Kutztown University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Kutztown University are $11,440 a year.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Millersville University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the large suburb of Millersville, Millersville is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

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

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#4

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Pennsylvania is a great value for public administration and social service students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UPenn are $42,932 a year.

UPenn also took the #2 spot in our Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania rankings.

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Out of the 8 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Pitt graduate students pay an average of $25,248 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#6

Widener University

Chester, PA

Widener University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Widener is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Chester.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Widener are $25,416 a year.

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#7

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.

Carnegie Mellon graduate students pay an average of $47,347 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Carnegie Mellon not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Carnegie Mellon University Report

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#8

Bryn Mawr College

Bryn Mawr, PA

Bryn Mawr College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Doctor’s Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Bryn Mawr is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bryn Mawr.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Bryn Mawr are $48,328 per year.

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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 Jersey 2,776
New York 10,504
Maryland 1,766
Delaware 443
District of Columbia 874

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 58,326
Public Administration 16,905
Human Services 13,238
Public Policy 6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 73,813
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 8 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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