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Best Value Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

2023 Best Value Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

19 Colleges
$15,886 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$49,367 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Education Master's Degree 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in Virginia to see which master's degree 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.

Top 10 Best Education Master's Degree Schools

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Our analysis found James Madison University to be the best value school for education students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Virginia. JMU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Harrisonburg.

JMU graduate students pay an average of $12,514 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

JMU did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

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#2

Longwood University

Farmville, VA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Longwood University is a great value for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the town of Farmville, Longwood is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Longwood are $9,126 a year.

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#3

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Mary Washington. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the midsize suburb of Fredericksburg, UMW is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UMW are $11,388 a year.

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#4

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 #4 on this year’s Best Value Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Virginia Tech are $16,522 per 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 education in Virginia.

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#5

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means George Mason University is a great value for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

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#6

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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

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#7

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

William & Mary did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public school with a moderately-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 Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

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#8

Virginia State University

Petersburg, VA

With a ranking of #8, Virginia State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Petersburg, Virginia State is a public school with a small student population.

Virginia State graduate students pay an average of $11,989 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#9

Radford University

Radford, VA

Radford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Radford is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Radford.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Radford are $12,535 per year.

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#10

University of Lynchburg

Lynchburg, VA

With a ranking of #10, University of Lynchburg did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Lynchburg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Lynchburg are $11,759 per year.

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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
Mississippi 4,219
South Carolina 3,980
Florida 10,069
Arkansas 4,954
Alabama 5,059
Kentucky 5,329
Georgia 9,722
Tennessee 5,194
Louisiana 2,977

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 19 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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