2023 Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Education School for You
With 327,871 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, education is the #4 most popular major in the United States.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 81 schools in the Southwest Region to see which 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.
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.
Top 15% Best Education Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Santa Fe Community College the best value school in the Southwest Region for education students. SFCC is a small public school located in the suburb of Santa Fe.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SFCC are $4,995 a year. On average, education graduates from SFCC take out $20,018 in student loans while working on their degree.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pima Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large city of Tucson, Pima County Community College District is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Pima County Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $7,566 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that education majors at Pima County Community College District take out is $13,907.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Central New Mexico Community College is a great value for education students. CNM is a large public school located in the large city of Albuquerque.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CNM are $7,540 a year. On average, education graduates from CNM take out $9,562 in student loans while working on their degree.
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The excellent programs at MSU Texas helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best education schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the midsize city of Wichita Falls, MSU Texas is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MSU Texas are $11,726 a year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Arizona State University - Skysong is a great value for education students. Located in the city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 a year. Education majors at ASU - Skysong take out an average of $23,380 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $286, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
In addition to its great value ranking, ASU - Skysong is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Education Schools in the Southwest Region list.
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Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the town of Portales, ENMU - Main Campus is a public college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ENMU - Main Campus are $8,568 per year. On average, education graduates from ENMU - Main Campus take out $22,982 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Grand Canyon University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Grand Canyon University is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Phoenix.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grand Canyon University are $17,189 a year. The average amount in student loans that education majors at Grand Canyon University take out is $36,153. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $118.
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Ottawa University - Phoenix ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Phoenix, Ottawa University - Phoenix is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Ottawa University - Phoenix undergraduate students pay an average of $13,281 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, education graduates from Ottawa University - Phoenix carry an average student debtload of $25,583.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Ottawa University - Phoenix also is in the top 20% of our Best Education Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.
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Southeastern Oklahoma State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Durant.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University are $15,870 per year. Education majors at Southeastern Oklahoma State University take out an average of $25,087 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Lubbock Christian University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Lubbock, LCU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at LCU are $24,900 a year. On average, education graduates from LCU take out $29,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $102.
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The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UT Rio Grande Valley are $19,333 per year.
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Angelo State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the city of San Angelo, Angelo State is a public college with a large student population.
Angelo State undergraduate students pay an average of $17,978 in tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #12, Northwestern Oklahoma State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students. NWOSU is a small public school located in the remote town of Alva.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NWOSU are $15,001 a year. Education majors at NWOSU take out an average of $21,082 in student loans while working on their egree.
Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great value schools for Education students in the Southwest Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Southwestern Assemblies of God University | Waxahachie, TX |
| 15 | Southern Nazarene University | Bethany, OK |
| 16 | Northeastern State University | Tahlequah, OK |
Best Education Colleges by State
Explore the best education schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 16,265 |
| Texas | 17,614 |
| New Mexico | 1,831 |
| Oklahoma | 3,171 |
More Education Rankings in the Southwest Region
Education Related Majors for Education
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 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 27 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.