2023 Best Value International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 7,368 people earned their degree in international studies, making the major the 100th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, international studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,198 and had an average of $21,594 in loans still to pay off.

Across Pennsylvania, there were 348 international studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $76,843 and $26,453 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in international studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent international studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the international studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank International Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania international studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for International Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Pennsylvania

1

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#1 in overall quality

$580 Average Net Price

$81,207 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 117 degrees to qualified ’s international studies students in 2020-2021.

UPenn also made our “Best International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend UPenn is $580 for pennsylvania international studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about International Studies at University of Pennsylvania

2

Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#3 in overall quality

$18,173 Average Net Price

$47,012 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Temple University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 47 ’s international studies degrees in 2020-2021.

Temple also took the #3 spot in our “Best International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $18,173 for pennsylvania international studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Temple.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on International Studies at Temple University

3

Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#2 in overall quality

$24,508 Average Net Price

$60,176 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Drexel University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified ’s international studies students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania international studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, Drexel has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best International Studies Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Drexel University is $24,508 for pennsylvania international studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about International Studies at Drexel

• Best Value Colleges for International Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Colleges for International Studies (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Yerpo.