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Best Value Information Science Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value Information Science Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

10 Colleges
$14,655 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$59,519 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Information Science School for You

In 2020-2021, 532 degrees and certificates were awarded to information science students who went to a Virginia college or university. This makes it the #58 most popular major in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Value Information Science Schools in Virginia ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in Virginia to see which programs offered the best value experiences for IS students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Information Science Schools in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Information Science Colleges.

Top 10 Best Information Science 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 information science students who want to pursue a degree in Virginia. JMU is a very large public school located in the city of Harrisonburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JMU are $12,638 per year. While working on their degree, IS majors at JMU accumulate an average of around $23,400 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $244, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

JMU excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Information Science Schools in Virginia list.

Read full report on Information Science at James Madison University

#2

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA
$13,119 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at George Mason University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best information science schools in Virginia. Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public school with a very large student population.

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

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, GMU also is in the top 15% of our Best Information Science Schools in Virginia ranking.

Read More…

$15,028 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Virginia Commonwealth University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best information science schools in Virginia. Located in the city of Richmond, VCU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at VCU are $15,028 per year. IS majors at VCU take out an average of $26,269 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $213.

Full Information Science at Virginia Commonwealth University Report

#4

Christopher Newport University

Newport News, VA
$14,924 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Christopher Newport University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best information science schools in Virginia. Located in the city of Newport News, CNU is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CNU are $14,924 per year. While working on their degree, IS majors at CNU accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, CNU also did well on our Best Information Science Schools in Virginia list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Information Science at Christopher Newport University Report

#5

Radford University

Radford, VA
$11,542 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Radford University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best information science schools in Virginia. Radford is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Radford.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Radford are $11,542 per year. On average, IS graduates from Radford take out $31,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Information Science at Radford University Report

#6

Stratford University

Fairfax, VA
$15,130 Average Tuition & Fees

Stratford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for information science students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Fairfax, Stratford University is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Stratford University are $15,130 per year.

Full Information Science at Stratford University Report

$13,515 Average Tuition & Fees

Strayer University - Virginia did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for information science students. It came in at #7 on the list. Strayer University - Virginia is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Arlington.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Strayer University - Virginia are $13,515 a year. After completing their degree, IS graduates from Strayer University - Virginia carry an average student debtload of $51,351.

Read full report on Information Science at Strayer University - Virginia

#8

South University, Richmond

Glen Allen, VA
$18,000 Average Tuition & Fees

South University, Richmond did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for information science students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the suburb of Glen Allen, South University, Richmond is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

South University, Richmond undergraduate students pay an average of $18,000 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, IS graduates from South University, Richmond carry an average student debtload of $51,566.

Read full report on Information Science at South University, Richmond

#9

South University, Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach, VA
$18,000 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, South University, Virginia Beach did quite well on this year’s best value schools for information science students. South University, Virginia Beach is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Virginia Beach.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South University, Virginia Beach are $18,000 per year. While working on their degree, IS majors at South University, Virginia Beach accumulate an average of around $51,566 in student debt.

Full Information Science at South University, Virginia Beach Report

#10

University of Richmond

University of Richmond, VA
$58,570 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Richmond came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Information Science Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the midsize city of University of Richmond, URichmond is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

URichmond undergraduate students pay an average of $58,570 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, URichmond is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Information Science Schools in Virginia list.

Full Information Science at University of Richmond Report

Best Value Information Science Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 413
North Carolina 224
Florida 404
Tennessee 11
Kentucky 106
South Carolina 117
Louisiana 126
Arkansas 71
Alabama 76
Mississippi 1
West Virginia 60

Information Science is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 88,434
Computer Science 59,565
Information Technology 40,555
Computer Systems Networking 14,700
Computer Software & Applications 14,336

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 The Opte Project.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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