Economics · Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania colleges that awarded Economics credentials

47 colleges in Pennsylvania reported conferring Economics credentials to the federal IPEDS collection in 2023-24, and every one of them also awarded in the year before. 47 awarded a degree. That is a record of credentials already awarded, not confirmation that a program is currently admitting.

Colleges and what they awarded

Largest first by credentials conferred in 2023-24. That order measures the size of the graduating class and nothing else: it is not a ranking, and the largest entry is often a certificate provider rather than the strongest degree program. The credential is labelled on every row for exactly that reason.

Colleges in Pennsylvania that conferred Economics credentials in 2023-24, with the number awarded and whether any was a degree.
CollegeCredentials awardedHighest level
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus377Degree
University of Pennsylvania263Degree
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus219Degree
Lafayette College101Degree
Villanova University99Degree
Bucknell University94Degree
Swarthmore College78Degree
Gettysburg College59Degree
Pennsylvania State University-World Campus58Degree
Temple University57Degree
Carnegie Mellon University53Degree
Drexel University42Degree
Dickinson College40Degree
Ursinus College38Degree
Haverford College33Degree
Allegheny College21Degree
Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania21Degree
Lehigh University21Degree
Lebanon Valley College17Degree
Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus15Degree
Millersville University of Pennsylvania13Degree
Westminster College12Degree
Moravian University11Degree
Muhlenberg College11Degree
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania11Degree
Duquesne University9Degree
Saint Joseph's University7Degree
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania6Degree
Grove City College6Degree
La Salle University6Degree
Pennsylvania Western University6Degree
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania6Degree
Susquehanna University6Degree
Washington & Jefferson College6Degree
Bryn Mawr College5Degree
Lycoming College5Degree
Robert Morris University5Degree
DeSales University4Degree
Gannon University4Degree
Messiah University4Degree
Chatham University3Degree
Juniata College3Degree
Point Park University3Degree
University of Scranton3Degree
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College2Degree
Saint Vincent College2Degree
King's College1Degree

How much of this field is in Pennsylvania

Credentials awarded
1,866
Share of U.S. total
4.1%
Colleges awarding it
47
Awarding a degree
47

Pennsylvania colleges conferred 1,866 Economics credentials in 2023-24, which is 4.1% of the 45,417 conferred across the 51 U.S. jurisdictions reporting any. Of the 47 colleges here, every one awarded a degree. These counts measure the size of graduating classes, not program quality, and not how many students are currently enrolled.

What level those credentials were

  • Certificates<1%3
  • Bachelor's91%1,700
  • Graduate9%163

Most Economics credentials awarded in Pennsylvania were bachelor's degrees. That is 16 percentage points more weighted toward bachelor's degrees than the field nationally, where they are 75% of credentials. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and the level a program awards is set by the program rather than by the student.

We measured how much this varies nationwide, and for most fields the credential level is set by the field rather than the state: is your major a certificate or a degree?

How concentrated it is. The single college with the largest reported graduating class in this field accounted for 20% of Pennsylvania’s Economics credentials. Activity is spread across several institutions rather than sitting with one.

What these Pennsylvania colleges cost

Median net price across the 46 of these 47 colleges that report it, by family income. Net price is what students receiving federal aid actually paid for the WHOLE college after grants and scholarships, so it is not the price of a Economics program specifically, and not a quote for any family.

0-30k
$17,173
30-48k
$18,093
48-75k
$20,974
75-110k
$26,033
110k+
$32,531

By the kind of college

The figure above averages very different institutions together. Split by federal sector, for a family earning under $30,000:

Median net price for a family earning under $30,000, by kind of college, among Pennsylvania colleges that reported awarding Economicscredentials.
Kind of collegeCollegesMedian net price
Public four-year12$14,677
Private34$18,220

Sector is the federal classification (IPEDS ICLEVEL and CONTROL). Private covers both nonprofit and for-profit colleges, which CampusPin does not split here because the for-profit sample in a single state is usually too small to publish a median. Each row needs at least five colleges reporting net price, so a sector with fewer is left out rather than estimated.

A family earning under $30,000 paid a median of $17,173 at these colleges, against $32,531 for a family earning over $110,000. Individual colleges vary widely around these medians. See every Pennsylvania college by income band.

What this evidence does and does not prove

This lists colleges that reported conferring credentials in this field to the federal IPEDS completions collection, in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. It does not confirm that any of them is currently admitting students to the program, and a college can appear here after deciding to close it. Confirm with the institution before it affects where you apply.

How this list was built

From the U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions collection, matched to each college on its exact federal program classification. A college appears only if it conferred credentials in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, which is what separates a running program from one that has already closed.

This page exists because its list of colleges is materially different from that of every closely related field in Pennsylvania — the fields a reader could otherwise mistake it for, such as two engineering disciplines, or nursing and practical nursing. Where a related field resolves to the same colleges, the second page would be the first one with its title changed, and CampusPin does not publish it. Sharing colleges with an unrelated field is different, and not a reason to withhold the page: in most states the same colleges award business, psychology and biology alike, which says something about the colleges rather than about the fields. We measured exactly how often that happens, and published the result: does choosing a major narrow your college list?

What Economics graduates go on to do

Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Economics, ordered by projected annual openings. National figures: openings and pay do not vary by where you studied, and the crosswalk describes related fields rather than a required or guaranteed path.

Occupations associated with Economics, with median annual wage, projected annual openings, and the education most entrants hold.
OccupationMedian payOpenings / yrMost entrants hold
Managers, All Other$136,550106,700Bachelor's degree
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$64,58066,200Bachelor's degree
Social Science Research Assistants$58,0405,200Bachelor's degree
Economics Teachers, Postsecondary$119,9801,200Doctoral or professional degree
Economists$115,440900Master's degree
Survey Researchers$63,380700Master's degree

Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). “Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already in the occupation, not a legal requirement, an admission rule, or a guarantee of entry. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.

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