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2024 Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania

9 Colleges in Pennsylvania
503 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$58,255 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in public administration is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #60 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 9 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 503 degrees in public administration to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration School

Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania The public admin program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for public administration schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Public Administration Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Public Admin
Master's Degrees in Public Admin
Doctor's Degrees in Public Admin

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Administration Schools in Pennsylvania list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Public Administration in Pennsylvania

The schools below may not offer all types of public admin degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Pennsylvania Schools in Public Admin

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
91 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
35.2% Growth in Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were approximately 91 public administration students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from University of Pennsylvania get an earnings boost of approximately $15,330 over the typical earnings of public administration graduates.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Pennsylvania

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
78 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$63,051 Median Starting Salary

Villanova University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in public administration. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Villanova is a great university overall.

There were roughly 78 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration major at Villanova University make $4,796 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public administration from Villanova University

3

It is hard to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you want to pursue a degree in public administration. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were approximately 19 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration program at Carnegie Mellon University earn $2,474 above the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration from Carnegie Mellon University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$58,158 Median Starting Salary

University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration. Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #79 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Pitt is a great university overall.

There were approximately 61 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, public admin degree recipients typically make around $58,158 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In PA
82 Public Admin Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 15th out of 109 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 82 public administration students who graduated with this degree at WCUPA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from West Chester University of Pennsylvania

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In PA
33.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Shippensburg, Ship is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 39th out of 109 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 21 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Ship in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In PA

Located in the fringe town of Kutztown, Kutztown University is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 43rd out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 15 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Kutztown University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public administration from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In PA

Located in the suburb of Chester, Widener is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 17th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 8 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Widener in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public administration from Widener University

9

Best Public Administration Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
New York3331,826
Maryland279240
New Jersey273348
District of Columbia188288
Delaware17529

View All Rankings >

Public Administration is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Admin Focus Areas

MajorAnnual Graduates
Public Administration481
Public Administration (Other)22

View All Public Admin Focus Areas >

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Human Services418
Public Policy335
Community Organization & Advocacy32
Other Public Administration16

View All Public Admin Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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