Best Instructional Design Schools Near Philadelphia, PA (2026)

Updated September 5, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has 5 accredited schools offering instructional design programs. Philadelphia has a population of about 1,582,432. Median household income is $60,698 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 34.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area, the top-earning instructional design-related role is Training and Development Managers at a median $135,450 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Instructional Design Schools to Philadelphia

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer instructional design programs near Philadelphia, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Philadelphia city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Philadelphia. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA 2.2 miles from Philadelphia
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
68.8 BOC Score
Graduation rate 76%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $63,727
Avg net price $28,198/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 83%
  • Programs offered: 230

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA 4.7 miles from Philadelphia
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
71.6 BOC Score
Graduation rate 74%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $84,648
Avg net price $38,509/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 90%
  • Programs offered: 187

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#3

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA 5.0 miles from Philadelphia
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
83.3 BOC Score
Graduation rate 97%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $111,371
Avg net price $28,699/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 98%
  • Programs offered: 188

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA 8.6 miles from Philadelphia
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
74.0 BOC Score
Graduation rate 66%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $62,235
Avg net price $13,143/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 80%
  • Programs offered: 37

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Pennsylvania schools on the Pennsylvania instructional design page.

Instructional Design Wages Near Philadelphia

Philadelphia is part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (BLS area code 37980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Pennsylvania statewide.

Occupation Median Wage Source COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Instructional Coordinators $78,400 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $76,413
Training and Development Specialists $76,710 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $74,766
Training and Development Managers $135,450 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $132,018
Education Teachers, Postsecondary $76,450 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $74,513
Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other $38,900 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $37,914
Education Administrators, Postsecondary $117,980 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $114,990
Farm and Home Management Educators $63,300 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $61,696
Graphic Designers $63,090 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD $61,491

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.

Philadelphia at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Population 1,582,432 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income $60,698 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ 34.6% Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 102.6 (above U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other Philadelphia-Area Cities With Instructional Design Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited instructional design schools are near Philadelphia, PA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering instructional design programs near Philadelphia. The closest is Temple University in Philadelphia, PA (2.2 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Widener University (15.5 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying instructional design roles near Philadelphia?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying instructional design-related roles near Philadelphia are: Training and Development Managers ($135,450), Education Administrators, Postsecondary ($117,980), Instructional Coordinators ($78,400). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Pennsylvania statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Camden instead of Philadelphia?

Camden, NJ is 5.1 miles from Philadelphia and has its own set of local instructional design programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Philadelphia an affordable place to study instructional design?

Philadelphia’s median household income of $60,698 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Philadelphia while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Pennsylvania public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.

Learn More About Instructional Design Programs

Other Programs Available in Philadelphia

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Philadelphia:

Data verified: September 5, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.

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