Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

6 Colleges
$15,196 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$55,530 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate School for You

In 2020-2021, public administration and social service students earned 1,152 degrees and certificates from a Virginia school, making the subject the 9th in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in Virginia to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for public administration and social service 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Best Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Public & Social Service

#1

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Our analysis found Virginia Tech to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in Virginia. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Virginia Tech are $16,522 per year.

Virginia Tech not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list.

Read More…

#2

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Liberty University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Liberty University are $8,360 a year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Liberty University

The excellent graduate certificate programs at University of Virginia - Main Campus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value public administration and social service schools in Virginia. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a very large student population.

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

University of Virginia did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list.

Read More…

#4

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

Out of the 6 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, George Mason University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at GMU are $16,644 per year.

GMU not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at George Mason University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list. Located in the city of Richmond, VCU is a public college with a very large student population.

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

Read More…

#6

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

Old Dominion University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate public administration and social service programs. Located in the city of Norfolk, Old Dominion is a public college with a very large student population.

Old Dominion graduate students pay an average of $13,224 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 244
Florida 1,526
North Carolina 1,324
Tennessee 853
Georgia 885
South Carolina 308
Louisiana 842
West Virginia 317
Kentucky 1,040
Arkansas 372
Alabama 1,018

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 33,631
Public Administration 13,571
Public Policy 3,737
Human Services 1,277
Community Organization & Advocacy 741
Other Public Administration 295

Related Major Annual Graduates
Legal Professions 45,189
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 13,045
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 10,452
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 1,613

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 6 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 University of the Fraser Valley.

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.