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Best Value Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$14,888 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$53,732 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Social Sciences Master's Degree School for You

With 627 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, social sciences is the #12 most popular major in Virginia.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

The Best Value Social Sciences 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. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in Virginia to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for social sciences students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for social sciences majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Social Sciences Master's Degree Schools

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Our 2023 rankings named James Madison University the best value school in Virginia for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a very 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 Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

Full Social Sciences at James Madison University Report

#2

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Liberty University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value social sciences schools in Virginia. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.

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

Read More…

#3

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA

Out of the 10 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 midsize suburb of Fredericksburg.

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

Full Social Sciences at University of Mary Washington Report

#4

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

Out of the 10 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, William & Mary landed the # 4 spot on the list. William & Mary is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Williamsburg.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at William & Mary are $16,618 per year.

William & Mary also took the #3 spot in our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia rankings.

Read full report on Social Sciences at William & Mary

#5

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Virginia Tech. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.

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 Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

Read full report on Social Sciences at Virginia Tech

University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

University of Virginia graduate students pay an average of $20,906 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

University of Virginia also took the #1 spot in our Best Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia rankings.

Read full report on Social Sciences at University of Virginia - Main Campus

#7

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. GMU is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fairfax.

GMU graduate students pay an average of $16,644 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#8

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

Old Dominion University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Social Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Old Dominion is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Norfolk.

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

Read full report on Social Sciences at Old Dominion University

Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree social sciences programs. VCU is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Richmond.

VCU graduate students pay an average of $15,518 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#10

Regent University

Virginia Beach, VA

With a ranking of #10, Regent University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for social sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Virginia Beach, Regent is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Regent are $17,190 a year.

Full Social Sciences at Regent University Report

Best Value Social Sciences Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 65
Florida 594
North Carolina 572
Tennessee 187
Georgia 456
South Carolina 80
Louisiana 163
West Virginia 86
Kentucky 150
Arkansas 47
Alabama 263

Social Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Economics 6,173
International Relations & National Security 5,010
Political Science & Government 2,664
Geography & Cartography 2,315
Sociology 1,907
Anthropology 1,446
Criminology 936
General Social Sciences 745
Other Social Sciences 532
Urban Studies 432
Archeology 66
Demography & Population Studies 66

Majors Similar to Social Sciences

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 199,724
Psychology 42,013
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929
History 4,391

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 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 AndrГ© KГјnzelmann.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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