2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Engineering School for You
Engineering is one of the most popular subjects to study in Virginia. With 5,181 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 9th out of all the majors we track in the state.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Engineering Schools in Virginia ranking. This report analyzed 6 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best value programs for engineering students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Best Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality in Engineering
Our analysis found Virginia Tech to be the best value school for engineering students who want to pursue a degree in Virginia. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.
Virginia Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $14,174 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, engineering majors at Virginia Tech accumulate an average of around $25,824 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $458.
Virginia Tech did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Engineering Schools in Virginia list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia list. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Virginia are $19,785 per year. The average amount in student loans that engineering majors at University of Virginia take out is $19,296.
University of Virginia did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Engineering Schools in Virginia list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Old Dominion University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Engineering Schools in Virginia list. Located in the city of Norfolk, Old Dominion is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Old Dominion are $10,800 per year. While working on their degree, engineering majors at Old Dominion accumulate an average of around $25,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $129, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
Read full report on Engineering at Old Dominion University
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Out of the 6 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, George Mason University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a very large student population.
GMU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,119 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, engineering graduates from GMU take out $25,087 in student loans while working on their degree.
In addition to its great value ranking, GMU is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Engineering Schools in Virginia list.
Full Engineering at George Mason University Report
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The excellent programs at Virginia Commonwealth University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best engineering schools in Virginia. Located in the medium-sized city of Richmond, VCU is a public college with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at VCU are $15,028 a year. After completing their degree, engineering graduates from VCU carry an average student debtload of $24,776.
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Liberty University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for engineering students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Liberty University are $16,160 a year. Engineering majors at Liberty University take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on Engineering at Liberty University
Request InformationBest Value Engineering Colleges in the Southeast Region
Explore all the Best Value Engineering Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | 5,126 |
| West Virginia | 990 |
| Mississippi | 1,512 |
| South Carolina | 2,318 |
| Florida | 9,040 |
| Arkansas | 1,082 |
| Alabama | 3,927 |
| Kentucky | 1,343 |
| Georgia | 5,301 |
| Tennessee | 2,281 |
| Louisiana | 1,832 |
More Engineering Rankings in Virginia
Majors Related to Engineering
Engineering Majors to Study
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Computer & Information Sciences | 254,454 |
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences | 177,778 |
| Engineering Technologies | 85,188 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 52,396 |
| Physical Sciences | 50,306 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 6 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 Petty Officer 3rd Class Declan Barnes.
More about our data sources and methodologies.