Public colleges and universities account for almost 75 percent of all undergraduate students in the U.S. The best public colleges in Pennsylvania provide broad access to reputable degree programs, affordable tuition, and sprawling educational communities.
Prospective students hoping to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree have over 100 higher learning institutions to choose from. The largest public university is Pennsylvania State University, or Penn State, with a tuition of $18,000, and a student population of over 95,000 across its campuses. As a private institution, the University of Pennsylvania, or simply Penn, is known for its medical, nursing, social work, and business fields. Tuition is $56,000, and the school boasts a 95% graduation rate.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Students can also attend one of the more than 60 religiously affiliated schools, such as Villanova University or Lafayette College, each with a tuition of about $53,000. Some of the most affordable colleges in the state include the Curtis Institute of Music and the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, with tuitions set at $3,000 and $9,000, respectively. Though the average tuition for college in Pennsylvania comes in above the national average, those who practice medicine in underserved areas may qualify for up to $100,000 in loan forgiveness through the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program.
As the nation’s second state, Pennsylvania’s history runs deep. It’s here where Betsy Ross made the first American flag and where the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Keystone State is also home to some culinary delights, including whoopie pies, soft pretzels, and the famous Philly cheesesteak. Students looking to earn their degree in Pennsylvania will undoubtedly enjoy what the state has to offer.
Check out the state’s top programs and learn more about earning your degree in Pennsylvania.
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Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models — one is a private company with private funding; the other is owned by the state and receives both state and federal funding to operate. If you’re weighing the pros and cons of private vs. public college, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.
Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a four-year degree at a public university is often lower than the equivalent cost at a private college — especially for students attending a public school in their home state. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a four-year public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually.
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This list is composed entirely of public colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 41 public universities in Pennsylvania; 22 of which meet our criteria. The list below of the 20 best public universities in the state satisfies the following four conditions:
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Find out more about our ranking methodology here.
Less Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
84%
Student body
27K
Median SAT/ACT
1350/30
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University of Pittsburgh’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$18K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
69%
Student body
47K
Median SAT/ACT
1190/26
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Pennsylvania State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$17K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
75%
Student body
33K
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Temple University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
54%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1015/19
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Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
51%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1040/19
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Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
51%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/20
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California University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Student body
5K
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Penn State Harrisburg’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
69%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/21
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Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
53%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1035/20
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Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
75%
Student body
16K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/23
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West Chester University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
56%
Student body
7K
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Millersville University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
58%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1050/20
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Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Student body
3K
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Penn State Altoona’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Student body
<1K
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Penn State Lehigh Valley’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
52%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1055/21
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Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$15K
Student body
3K
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Penn State Berks’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Student body
<1K
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Penn State York’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Student body
<1K
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Penn State New Kensington’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Student body
<1K
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Penn State Hazleton’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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