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Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

12 Colleges
$14,821 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$48,536 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree 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.

The Best Value Public & Social Service Master's Degree Schools in Virginia ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 12 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for public administration and social service students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Master's Degree Schools

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Our 2023 rankings named James Madison University the best value school in Virginia for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. JMU is a very large public school located in the small city of Harrisonburg.

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

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, JMU is ranked #5 for overall quality for public administration and social service in Virginia.

Read More…

#2

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Tech. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.

Virginia Tech graduate students pay an average of $16,522 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Virginia Tech is ranked #2 for overall quality for public administration and social service in Virginia.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Virginia Tech Report

#3

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

Out of the 12 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, William & Mary landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

William & Mary graduate students pay an average of $16,618 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

William & Mary not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

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#4

Radford University

Radford, VA

Out of the 12 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Radford University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Radford is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Radford.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Radford are $12,535 a year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Radford University Report

#5

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at GMU are $16,644 a year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at George Mason University Report

Virginia Commonwealth University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the city of Richmond, VCU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at VCU are $15,518 per year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Virginia Commonwealth University

University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree public administration and social service programs. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school 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 Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at University of Virginia - Main Campus

#8

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

With a ranking of #8, Liberty University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

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

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Liberty University Report

With a ranking of #9, Norfolk State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students working on their master’s degree. Norfolk State is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Norfolk.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Norfolk State are $12,690 per year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Norfolk State University Report

#10

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

Old Dominion University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the midsize city of Norfolk, Old Dominion is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Old Dominion are $13,224 per year.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Old Dominion University Report

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

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges 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 12 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.

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