Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

12 Colleges
$14,918 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,798 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service 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 Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 12 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best value 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 Schools in Virginia

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for public administration and social service majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Public Administration & Social Service Schools

#1

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA
$14,174 Average Tuition & Fees

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Virginia Tech are $14,174 a year.

Virginia Tech did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Virginia Tech

#2

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA
$12,638 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 12 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, James Madison University landed the # 2 spot on the list. JMU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Harrisonburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JMU are $12,638 per year.

JMU also made our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #5.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at James Madison University Report

#3

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA
$23,812 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William & Mary. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list. Located in the small suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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

William & Mary also made our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #4.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at William & Mary Report

#4

Radford University

Radford, VA
$11,542 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Radford University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list. Radford is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Radford.

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

Read More…

#5

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA
$13,119 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at GMU are $13,119 a year.

GMU also claimed a spot on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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

#6

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA
$16,160 Average Tuition & Fees

Liberty University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Liberty University are $16,160 a year.

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

$15,028 Average Tuition & Fees

Virginia Commonwealth University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list. Located in the city of Richmond, VCU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

VCU undergraduate students pay an average of $15,028 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$19,785 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration and social service students. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a very large student population.

University of Virginia undergraduate students pay an average of $19,785 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

Read More…

#9

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA
$10,800 Average Tuition & Fees

Old Dominion University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in Virginia list. Located in the midsize city of Norfolk, Old Dominion is a public school with a very large student population.

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

Read More…

#10

Norfolk State University

Norfolk, VA
$9,622 Average Tuition & Fees

Norfolk State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value public administration and social service programs. Norfolk State is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Norfolk.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Norfolk State are $9,622 a year.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Norfolk State University

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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

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