by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a grad degree. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Doctor's Degree Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking is part of that endeavor.
What's on This Page: * Our Methodology
After analyzing 40 grad schools in Pennsylvania, we came up with our list of those that offered the best doctorate degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best grad schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a graduateschool is to look at the average salary of doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. A doctorate degree holder from a school in Pennsylvania makes an average starting salary of $74,028, but the students who attended schools in the top 19 of our list make an average of $74,461.
Another factor that we look at to determine a school's ranking is the average debt load that graduate students take on while they are working on their doctorate degree. We consider this number in conjunction with average post-graduation earnings to gauge the difficulty doctorate recipients will have paying back their loans.
In addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt loads, we also look at a host of other factors to determining our Best Doctorate Degree Schools ranking. Several other factors - such as how much the school spends on educational resources, the demand of the school, the availability of online learning options, and the student body caliber - go into our rankings.
Find out more about our graduate school ranking methodology
Not quite ready to work on your doctorate? Check out our Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
Learn more about these excellent grad schools below:
University of Pennsylvania tops this year’s ranking as the best grad school for doctorate degrees in Pennsylvania for overall quality. University of Pennsylvania is a large private not-for-profit school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 1,254 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from UPenn make an average of $97,555 a year.
A rank of #2 on our Best Doctorate Degrees in Pennsylvania list means Carnegie Mellon University is a great place for students working on their degree. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate degrees to 333 students in 2020-2021.
A rank of #3 on our Best Doctorate Degrees in Pennsylvania list means Lehigh University is a great place for students working on their degree. Lehigh is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 90 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Temple University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Temple is a large public school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 1,184 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from Temple make an average of $75,136 per year during the early years of their career.
The excellent doctorate degree programs at Arcadia University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Pennsylvania. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 295 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from Arcadia go into careers with an average salary of $71,130 during the early years of their career.
Thomas Jefferson University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #6. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 449 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from Thomas Jefferson University make an average of $73,922 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate degrees to 1,075 students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,253 during the early years of their career.
Learn More About University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
With a ranking of #8, University of Scranton did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. University of Scranton is located in Scranton, Pennsylvania and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 54 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $73,808 during the early years of their career.
Gannon University landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Gannon is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Erie, Pennsylvania. It awarded 129 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $67,092 during the early years of their career.
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania ranked #10 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania is a medium-sized public school located in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania that handed out 57 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $66,917 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
West Chester University of Pennsylvania did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #11. Located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, the fairly large public school awarded 41 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
Duquesne University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #12. Duquesne is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 453 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Duquesne make an average of $75,847 a year.
With a ranking of #13, Widener University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Widener University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Chester, Pennsylvania that handed out 414 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from Widener is $64,850 during the early years of their career.
Gwynedd Mercy University landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate degrees to 45 students in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Gwynedd - Mercy make an average of $93,765 a year.
Drexel University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #15. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate degrees to 731 students in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a doctorate degree from Drexel is $75,624 during the early years of their career.
Villanova University landed the #16 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Villanova, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate degrees to 214 students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,104 during the early years of their career.
Chatham University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 149 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, doctorate degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $97,100 during the early years of their career.
Saint Joseph’s University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #18. St. Joe’s is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 10 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Saint Francis University landed the #19 spot on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Saint Francis University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Loretto, Pennsylvania that handed out 33 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from Saint Francis make an average of $64,580 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #20, Alvernia University did quite well on the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Reading, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 32 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Alvernia make an average of $67,143 a year.
Robert Morris University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #21. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 47 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from RMU make an average of $92,343 a year.
York College of Pennsylvania ranked #22 on this year’s Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania list. YCP is a private not-for-profit institution located in York, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 13 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Chestnut Hill College did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #23. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 16 diplomas to qualifed doctorate degree students in 2020-2021.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus is a medium-sized public school located in Indiana, Pennsylvania that handed out 117 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from IUP make an average of $66,827 a year.
Learn More About Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus
La Salle University did quite well in the 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #25. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 30 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from La Salle make an average of $64,762 a year.
View Best Doctorate Degree Schools Nationwide >
More about our data sources and methodologies.