2023 Best Value History Schools in Virginia
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best History School for You
In 2020-2021, 1,500 degrees and certificates were awarded to history students who went to a Virginia college or university. This makes it the #19 most popular major in the state.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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 History Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in Virginia to see which programs offered the best value experiences for history students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
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. 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.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best History Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Virginia Tech the best value school in Virginia for history students. Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Virginia Tech are $14,174 per year. While working on their degree, history majors at Virginia Tech accumulate an average of around $21,500 in student debt.
Virginia Tech also made our Best History Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #3.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Virginia Military Institute. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in Virginia list. VMI is a small public school located in the town of Lexington.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at VMI are $19,670 a year. On average, history graduates from VMI take out $20,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
VMI did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best History Schools in Virginia list.
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The excellent programs at James Madison University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best history schools in Virginia. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public school with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JMU are $12,638 per year. After completing their degree, history graduates from JMU carry an average student debtload of $21,075. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $322.
JMU excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best History 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 #4 on our 2023 Best Value History Schools in Virginia list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
University of Virginia undergraduate students pay an average of $19,785 in in-state tuition and fees each year. History majors at University of Virginia take out an average of $20,390 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $227.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, University of Virginia is ranked #1 for overall quality for history in Virginia.
Full History at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Mary Washington. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in Virginia list. UMW is a small public school located in the midsize suburb of Fredericksburg.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UMW are $13,800 a year. On average, history graduates from UMW take out $25,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Radford University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value History Schools in Virginia list. Located in the suburb of Radford, Radford is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Radford undergraduate students pay an average of $11,542 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, history graduates from Radford carry an average student debtload of $25,516.
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Old Dominion University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value History Schools in Virginia ranking. Old Dominion is a very large public school located in the city of Norfolk.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Old Dominion are $10,800 per year. On average, history graduates from Old Dominion take out $25,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Christopher Newport University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for history students. It came in at #8 on the list. CNU is a small public school located in the midsize city of Newport News.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CNU are $14,924 per year. After completing their degree, history graduates from CNU carry an average student debtload of $26,000.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, CNU also did well on our Best History Schools in Virginia list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Liberty University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value history programs. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Liberty University are $16,160 per year. On average, history graduates from Liberty University take out $29,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value history programs. VCU is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Richmond.
VCU undergraduate students pay an average of $15,028 in in-state tuition and fees each year. History majors at VCU take out an average of $24,057 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on History at Virginia Commonwealth University
Request InformationBest Value History Colleges in the Southeast Region
Explore all the Best Value History Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1,063 |
| West Virginia | 539 |
| Mississippi | 232 |
| South Carolina | 423 |
| Florida | 887 |
| Arkansas | 246 |
| Alabama | 505 |
| Kentucky | 366 |
| Georgia | 679 |
| Tennessee | 555 |
| Louisiana | 426 |
More History Rankings in Virginia
Majors Related to History
History Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| History | 32,731 |
Majors Similar to History
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Education | 327,871 |
| Social Sciences | 205,984 |
| Psychology | 195,678 |
| Communication & Journalism | 120,571 |
| Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 55,820 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 15 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 Abraham Ortelius.
More about our data sources and methodologies.