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Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

18 Colleges
$15,180 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$61,137 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Education Graduate Certificate School for You

Education is one of the most popular subjects to study in Virginia. With 9,522 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 3rd out of all the majors we track in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 18 schools in Virginia to see which graduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for education 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 Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Our 2023 rankings named James Madison University the best value school in Virginia for education students working on their graduate certificate. JMU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Harrisonburg.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at JMU are $12,514 per year.

Read full report on Education at James Madison University

#2

Eastern Mennonite University

Harrisonburg, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Mennonite University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list. Located in the city of Harrisonburg, Eastern Mennonite is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Eastern Mennonite are $15,270 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Eastern Mennonite is ranked #5 for overall quality for education in Virginia.

Read More…

#3

Radford University

Radford, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Radford University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia 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.

Read More…

#4

University of Lynchburg

Lynchburg, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Lynchburg. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Lynchburg is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Lynchburg are $11,759 a year.

Read full report on Education at University of Lynchburg

#5

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Liberty University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value education schools in Virginia. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Liberty University are $8,360 per year.

Read full report on Education at Liberty University

#6

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list. Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, GMU is ranked #3 for overall quality for education in Virginia.

Read More…

#7

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

With a ranking of #7, Old Dominion University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the midsize city of Norfolk, Old Dominion is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Old Dominion are $13,224 a year.

Full Education at Old Dominion University Report

#8

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA

With a ranking of #8, University of Mary Washington did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Fredericksburg, UMW is a public college with a small student population.

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

Full Education at University of Mary Washington Report

#9

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Virginia Tech are $16,522 a year.

Virginia Tech did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list.

Read More…

#10

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

With a ranking of #10, William & Mary did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at William & Mary are $16,618 a year.

William & Mary also made our Best Education Graduate Certificate Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #4.

Full Education at William & Mary Report

Best Value Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
North Carolina 7,730
West Virginia 1,515
South Carolina 3,980
Florida 10,069
Arkansas 4,954
Mississippi 4,219
Tennessee 5,194
Louisiana 2,977
Alabama 5,059
Kentucky 5,329
Georgia 9,722

Education Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
General Education 29,810
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832
Student Counseling 13,858
Instructional Media Design 8,695
Teaching English or French 5,791
Other Education 4,858
Teaching Assistants 2,751
Educational Assessment 2,552
Multilingual Education 1,910
Education Philosophy 737
International Education 293

Majors Similar to Education

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Sciences 205,984
Psychology 195,678
Communication & Journalism 120,571
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 55,820
History 32,731

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 18 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 Horadrim.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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