Pennsylvania hosts several schools with quality online programs. The Pennsylvania school with the most success in online learning is undoubtedly Penn State. The school's World Campus is internationally renowned for its extensive offerings and excellent instructors, and more than 150 graduate degrees, undergraduate degrees, certificates and minors. Programs cover a wide array of disciplines, from business and psychology to media studies and turfgrass science.
The state is also home to several other schools with similarly robust online programs and services. But before we look at the best online colleges in Pennsylvania, let's consider how both higher education and online education are faring in the state today.
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Overview of Online Colleges in Pennsylvania
A Brief Overview of Higher Education in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's robust public university system and extensive private school options place it among the best states in the country to pursue higher education. The state boasts 256 degree-granting postsecondary institutions, according to 2015-2016 data from the National Center for Education Statistics. This figure includes 62 public, 120 nonprofit, and 74 for-profit institutions. Combined, these colleges and universities served 725,770 enrolled students in fall 2016, an increase of about 116,000 students since 2000. These numbers continue to grow annually.According to College Board data, the average yearly in-state tuition for a Pennsylvania public school was $14,437 in 2017. At Penn State University Park, the state's flagship university, in-state students currently pay $18,436 per year, while out-of-state students pay $33,664. The Ivy League school serves nearly 47,000 undergraduate and graduate students through its on-campus and online programs.Students attending online colleges in Pennsylvania can access several lucrative financial aid opportunities. In the 2015-2016 school year, postsecondary students in Pennsylvania received a total of $474,259,691 in need-based and non-need-based grants. Common sources of financial assistance include the Pennsylvania State Grant Program, PA Targeted Industry Program, Education Assistance Program for National Guard Members, work-study programs, and various institutional assistance grants. These grants go to more than 215,000 college and university students each year.
Higher Education in Pennsylvania
Featured Online Programs
The State of Online Higher Education in Pennsylvania
The Distance Education State Almanac reports that 180,730 (or 24%) of Pennsylvania's college and university students took at least one online course in in the 2015-2016 school year. While this is slightly lower than the national rate of 29%, distance learning increased by more than 31% between 2012 and 2015.Furthermore, 85,178 (about 11.3%) of postsecondary students took all of their courses through distance education. This number includes 56,876 undergraduate and 28,302 graduate students. Approximately 51.7% of these students lived in Pennsylvania, while the the rest lived out of state. The data also indicates that about 95,552 (12.6%) of the state's postsecondary students took a mix of on-campus and online courses during the 2015-2016 school year.The online schools in Pennsylvania with the most significant growth between 2012 and 2015 include Penn State's World Campus, Drexel University, Temple University, and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.[dataviz-nces online="11.3" undergrad="66.7" in-state="51.7"]Two organizations stand out for their efforts to promote the state's online postsecondary courses and programs: PA Universities Online and the Pennsylvania Distance Learning Association (PADLA). PA Universities Online is essentially a tool for finding online colleges in PA. Programs and courses are currently available at the 14 state universities, collectively referred to as the PA State System of Higher Education. This service makes it easy for students enrolled in one state school to secure courses at a sister school. Similarly, it lets students from outside the state network audit courses unique to PA state schools.The PADLA is a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to provide a destination for information, networking and knowledge regarding distance education. Geared toward the professionals responsible for delivering online courses, whether they be teachers or administrators, the PADLA works with every form of online learning, including adult basic education, workplace training, ESL courses and naturalization test prep. The organization is, in a sense, an ongoing meeting of the minds shaping online education, which in turn benefits PA students at all levels.
Pennsylvania and SARA
Students attending online colleges in PA benefit from the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), which sets uniform standards for distance education programs. SARA helps colleges and universities navigate the different laws and regulations governing online learning in each individual state. By joining SARA, online schools in PA can significantly reduce costs and pass on savings to their students. Colleges can also offer lower fees to residents of other SARA states.Pennsylvania became an official SARA member state in January 2017. While not a member of any of the four regional compacts within the the agreement, Pennsylvania is affiliated with the Southern Regional Education Board. There are now hundreds of SARA-approved postsecondary institutions across the United States.Distance learners benefit from SARA through greater access to online courses and reduced tuition rates. The compact also aims to improve the quality of distance learning by setting universal standards. SARA is currently working to streamline the process for resolving complaints from students attending schools in SARA states. As online programs continue to grow in popularity, SARA will likely play an increasingly important role in ensuring students get the quality education from distance programs.
Best Online Colleges in Pennsylvania
Below, you will find our rankings of the best online four-year programs in Pennsylvania. Our profiles look at how schools approach online education and then list out their services for distance students and their popular, fully online degrees. After reviewing the best online schools in PA, explore our state resources, including a database of every college and university in Pennsylvania or our index of popular in-state scholarships.
Ranking Methodology
To determine the best online colleges in each state, we examined the factors most important to prospective students: Academic quality and reputation, online program strength, and cost and student aid. At the most basic level, we use the following formula to determine the best online colleges: Academic Quality + Online Offerings + Cost and Student Aid = Final Score. Of course, there's more to these calculations than meets the eye. Visit our methodology page to discover the data points that shape our formula and to learn more about the process we use to rank schools.
Most Affordable Online Colleges in Pennsylvania
Below you'll find another list of the top colleges in Pennsylvania, this time sorted by tuition rate.
Affordability Methodology
Our list of the most affordable online schools in Pennsylvania is based on in-state yearly tuition, or annual tuition rates if a school does not differentiate between in-state and out-of-state students. Tuition rates are based on a full course load each semester or term. All colleges on the list offer at least one bachelor's degree completion program available entirely online.The online schools in PA with the lowest tuition are ranked highest, providing prospective students with a true list of the most affordable online colleges in their state.
College Graduate Outlook in Pennsylvania
Job Outlook for College Graduates in Pennsylvania
Graduates of online schools in Pennsylvania will enter a healthy job market in the years to come. As of May 2018, the state unemployment rate was 4.5%, only slightly above the national average. Pennsylvania workers make an annual median wage of about $48,760, with those in management occupations taking home $123,380 per year on average.Some of the greatest employment growth in recent years has come in mining and logging, construction, business and professional services, and education and health services. The leisure and hospitality sector has also experienced steady growth.Several specific careers have rapidly risen in demand and popularity, according to the career aggregation publication Zippia. Many of these jobs — such as occupational therapists, home health aides, and nurse practitioners — fall under the healthcare industry. Others — including interpreters, web developers, and biological engineers — span a variety of sectors. In short, college graduates can find numerous career options in an increasingly dynamic state economy.In formulating this list, Zippia gathered data from each state and territory to create what it calls a "master database" of career data and information. It then analyzed all Pennsylvania occupations projected to have a minimum of 1,000 employees in 2024, ranking them from one to 437. The table below includes the top five occupations.
Fastest Growing Jobs in Pennsylvania
OccupationJob Growth RateAverage Annual SalaryJobs in 2024Interpreter and Translator134.8%$55,2901,900Occupational Therapy Assistant133.3%$48,9403,360Physical Therapist Assistant129.2%$27,7202,880Physical Therapy Aide128.0%$27,1601,230Statistician128.0%$94,5405,120Source: Pennsylvania Department of Labor/BLS