According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average tuition fee at four-year or above public universities in the United States is $6,397 for the 2009/2010 academic year.

The College Affordability and Transparency Lists, released by the department on June 30, rank U.S. college price tags for perspective students and their parents. One list named the most expensive public universities based on tuition.

Pennsylvania State University topped the list with a tuition of $14,416. The University of Pittsburgh and University of Vermont are right behind with $14,154 and $13,554 respectively.

These lists are part of an effort by the U.S. Department of Education to increase college cost transparency for students making decisions about higher education. Lists also include public colleges with the lowest tuition, private colleges with highest and lowest tuition, and the highest and lowest net prices of public colleges.

The net price refers to the price of attendance for full-time students after grants and scholarships are taken into account. The U.S. national average net price is $10,747.

Following are the top 20 public universities in U.S. with highest tuition.

Also see Top 20 cheapest public universities in America