Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Education Schools in Virginia

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Education Schools in Virginia

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$19,635 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$48,428 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Education School for You

Education is the most popular major in Virginia with 7,400 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Education Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in Virginia to see which 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.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Education Schools in Virginia

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

Top 10 Best Education Schools

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA
$12,638 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found James Madison University to be the best value school for education students who want to pursue a degree in Virginia. Located in the city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at JMU are $12,638 a year.

JMU not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Education Schools in Virginia list.

Read full report on Education at James Madison University

#2

Longwood University

Farmville, VA
$14,090 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Longwood University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Education Schools in Virginia list. Longwood is a small public school located in the town of Farmville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Longwood are $14,090 a year.

Full Education at Longwood University Report

#3

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA
$13,800 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Mary Washington. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Education Schools in Virginia list. UMW is a small public school located in the midsize suburb of Fredericksburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMW are $13,800 per year.

Read More…

#4

Eastern Mennonite University

Harrisonburg, VA
$39,990 Average Tuition & Fees

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

Eastern Mennonite undergraduate students pay an average of $39,990 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Education at Eastern Mennonite University

#5

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA
$14,174 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 19 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Tech landed the # 5 spot on the list. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.

Virginia Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $14,174 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Virginia Tech also made our Best Education Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #3.

Full Education at Virginia Tech Report

#6

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA
$13,119 Average Tuition & Fees

George Mason University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Virginia list. GMU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fairfax.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GMU are $13,119 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, GMU also is in the top 20% of our Best Education Schools in Virginia ranking.

Full Education at George Mason University Report

#7

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA
$16,160 Average Tuition & Fees

Liberty University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value education programs. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.

Liberty University undergraduate students pay an average of $16,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#8

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA
$10,800 Average Tuition & Fees

Old Dominion University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in Virginia ranking. Old Dominion is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Norfolk.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Old Dominion are $10,800 per year.

Read full report on Education at Old Dominion University

#9

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA
$23,812 Average Tuition & Fees

William & Mary came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in Virginia ranking. William & Mary is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of Williamsburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at William & Mary are $23,812 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, William & Mary is ranked #4 for overall quality for education in Virginia.

Read full report on Education at William & Mary

#10

Radford University

Radford, VA
$11,542 Average Tuition & Fees

Radford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Radford, Radford is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Radford are $11,542 a year.

Full Education at Radford University Report

Best Value Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 2,371
Florida 5,192
North Carolina 4,150
Tennessee 3,386
Georgia 6,283
South Carolina 2,297
Louisiana 1,732
West Virginia 924
Kentucky 3,387
Arkansas 3,395
Alabama 3,231

Education Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Educational Administration 45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific 34,451
Special Education 25,158
General Education 21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific 20,616
Curriculum & Instruction 19,784
Student Counseling 13,840
Instructional Media Design 8,387
Teaching English or French 4,743
Other Education 2,513
Multilingual Education 1,672
Educational Assessment 1,215
Education Philosophy 421
International Education 257
Teaching Assistants 20

Related Major Annual Graduates
Psychology 42,013
Social Sciences 22,292
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 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 Horadrim.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.