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Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

9 Colleges
$13,948 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$50,291 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 864 degrees and certificates were awarded to general education students who went to a Virginia college or university. This makes it the #12 most popular major in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in Virginia to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for education students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia

Check out the education master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Best Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in General Education

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Our 2023 rankings named James Madison University the best value school in Virginia for general education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at JMU are $12,514 a year.

JMU did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

Full General Education at James Madison University Report

#2

Longwood University

Farmville, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Longwood University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Longwood is a small public school located in the town of Farmville.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Longwood are $9,126 per year.

Full General Education at Longwood University Report

#3

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA

Out of the 9 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Mary Washington landed the # 3 spot on the list. UMW is a small public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Fredericksburg.

UMW graduate students pay an average of $11,388 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at University of Mary Washington Report

#4

University of Lynchburg

Lynchburg, VA

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Lynchburg helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value general education schools in Virginia. Lynchburg is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Lynchburg are $11,759 per year.

Read full report on General Education at University of Lynchburg

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Virginia are $20,906 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, University of Virginia is ranked #1 for overall quality for education in Virginia.

Read full report on General Education at University of Virginia - Main Campus

#6

Radford University

Radford, VA

Radford University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the suburb of Radford, Radford is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Radford are $12,535 per year.

Read More…

#7

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.

Liberty University graduate students pay an average of $8,360 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at Liberty University Report

Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. VCU is a very large public school located in the city of Richmond.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at VCU are $15,518 a year.

Read full report on General Education at Virginia Commonwealth University

#9

Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA

Shenandoah University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general education programs. Shenandoah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winchester.

Shenandoah graduate students pay an average of $23,430 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at Shenandoah University Report

Best Value General Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value General Education Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Florida 407
Georgia 106
North Carolina 144
Tennessee 309
Kentucky 87
Louisiana 77
Alabama 115
South Carolina 286
Mississippi 276
Arkansas 51
West Virginia 230

General Education is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Education

Related Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific 34,451
Special Education 25,158
Teacher Education Subject Specific 20,616
Curriculum & Instruction 19,784

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 9 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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