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Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

13 Colleges
$25,862 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,881 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, liberal arts / sciences and humanities was ranked 4th in Virginia. In fact, 9,302 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 13 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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.

2023 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia

Check out the liberal arts / sciences and humanities bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Bachelor's Degree Schools

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Our 2023 rankings named James Madison University the best value school in Virginia for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JMU are $12,638 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, JMU also is in the top 20% of our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking.

Read More…

#2

Virginia State University

Petersburg, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Virginia State is a small public school located in the large suburb of Petersburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Virginia State are $9,154 a year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Virginia State University

#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 Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. UMW is a small public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Fredericksburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UMW are $13,800 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at University of Mary Washington Report

#4

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

Out of the 13 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, George Mason University landed the # 4 spot on the list. GMU is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fairfax.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at GMU are $13,119 per year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at George Mason University Report

#5

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Liberty University are $16,160 a year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Liberty University Report

#6

Southern Virginia University

Buena Vista, VA

With a ranking of #6, Southern Virginia University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the distant town of Buena Vista, SVU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SVU are $17,960 per year.

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#7

Bridgewater College

Bridgewater, VA

Bridgewater College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the suburb of Bridgewater, Bridgewater is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Bridgewater are $38,460 a year.

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#7

Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA

Shenandoah University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Shenandoah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Winchester.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Shenandoah are $34,490 per year.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Shenandoah University Report

#7

Eastern Mennonite University

Harrisonburg, VA

Eastern Mennonite University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Eastern Mennonite is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Harrisonburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Eastern Mennonite are $39,990 per year.

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#10

Mary Baldwin University

Staunton, VA

Mary Baldwin University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Mary Baldwin is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Staunton.

Mary Baldwin undergraduate students pay an average of $31,140 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Mary Baldwin University

Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
North Carolina 18,234
West Virginia 3,558
South Carolina 4,243
Florida 64,444
Arkansas 5,205
Mississippi 5,696
Tennessee 10,186
Louisiana 2,864
Alabama 5,890
Kentucky 6,493
Georgia 7,724

Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Liberal Arts General Studies 556,813

Majors Similar to Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities

Related Major Annual Graduates
Visual & Performing Arts 149,215
English Language & Literature 54,635
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 33,333
Theology & Religious Vocations 27,459
Philosophy & Religious Studies 19,993

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 13 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 Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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