Higher Education in Pennsylvania

This map shows the undergraduate colleges and universities that are not for-profit in Pennsylvania and have more than 1000 students attending them. In total, Pennsylvania has 354 insitutions of higher education. Of these, 113 are for-profit colleges or universities. These were not included in this collection because they function more like businesses than non-profit schools and their credits often do not transfer to other schools. Excluding these, Pennsylvania has the fourth most institutions of higher education, after Texas, California, and New York. From there, to reduce the number of more specialized schools on the map, schools with a population of less than 1000 were not included. For institutions with multiple locations, such as Pennsylvania State University and many community colleges, the student population of all the branches were combined but only their flagship location is mapped.

Characteristics of Pennsylvania Higher Education

Below are several tables summarizing data about the non-profit institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania.

Table 1: Institution Averages by Type

The first table summarizes the student populations and graduation rates of several categories of institutions. It shows that, in general, public institutions have a lower graduation rate than private universities, and two-year schools have a lower graduation rate than four-year schools. Keep in mind that for-profit institutions and non-profits enrolling fewer than 1000 students are not included.

Type of Institution	Number of Institutions	Student Population (Average)	Graduation Rate (Average)
2-Year Public	15	7,857	23.7%
2-Year Private Non-profit	1	1,363	41%
4-Year Public (primarily Associate degrees)	1	4,972	45%
4-Year Private Non-Profit (primarily Associate degrees)	3	1,849	50.7%
4-Year Public	17	15,293	59.2%
4-Year Private Non-Profit	70	3,819	70.2%
Overall	107	6,140	60.8%

Table 2: Student Population

The second table lists the smallest and largest student populations in the same categories of these institutions. Both the largest two-year public university (Harrisburg Area Community College) and the largest four-year public university (The Pennsylvania State University) have multiple branches, which add significantly to their student bodies. Again, keep in mind that for-profit institutions and non-profits enrolling fewer than 1000 students are not included.

Type of Institution	Name of Institution	Population	Size
2-Year Public	Harrisburg Area Community College	17,422	Largest
	Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology	1,347	Smallest
2-Year Private Non-Profit	Harcum College	1,363	1 inst. only
4-Year Public (primarily Associate degrees)	Pennsylvania College of Technology	4,972	1 inst. only
4-Year Private Non-Profit (primarily Associate degrees)	Lackawanna College	1,991	Largest
	Pittsburgh Technical College	1,744	Smallest
4-Year Public	The Pennsylvania State University	91,427	Largest
	Mansfield University of Pennsylvania	1,649	Smallest
4-Year Private Non-Profit	University of Pennsylvania	26,675	Largest
	Lycoming College	1,140	Smallest
Overall	The Pennsylvania State University	91,427	Largest
Overall	Lycoming College	1,140	Smallest

Table 3: Graduation Rate

The third table consists of the highest and lowest graduation rate at institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania. Once again, keep in mind that for-profit institutions and non-profits enrolling fewer than 1000 students are not included.

Type of Institution	Name of Institution	Graduation Rate	Size
2-Year Public	Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology	61%	Highest
	Harrisburg Area Community College & Community College of Philadelphia	15%	Lowest
2-Year Private Non-Profit	Harcum College	41%	1 inst. only
4-Year Public (primarily Associate degrees)	Pennsylvania College of Technology	45%	1 inst. only
4-Year Private Non-Profit (primarily Associate degrees)	Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences	63%	Highest
	Lackawanna College	32%	Lowest
4-Year Public	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	83%	Highest
	Edinboro University of Pennsylvania	44%	Lowest
4-Year Private Non-Profit	University of Pennsylvania	96%	Highest
	Peirce College	42%	Lowest
Overall	University of Pennsylvania	96%	Highest
Overall	Harrisburg Area Community College and Community College of Philadelphia	15%	Lowest