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Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in Virginia

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

32 Colleges
$6,585 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$27,025 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 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.

The Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in Virginia ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 32 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best value 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 Schools in Virginia

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

Top 10 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools

$5,565 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Northern Virginia Community College to be the best value school for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students who want to pursue a degree in Virginia. Located in the large suburb of Annandale, Northern Virginia Community College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Northern Virginia Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,565 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that liberal arts / sciences and humanities majors at Northern Virginia Community College take out is $11,000.

Northern Virginia Community College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in Virginia list.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Northern Virginia Community College Report

$4,695 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Southside Virginia Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in Virginia. Located in the rural area of Alberta, Southside Virginia Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Southside Virginia Community College are $4,695 a year. While working on their degree, liberal arts / sciences and humanities majors at Southside Virginia Community College accumulate an average of around $5,875 in student debt.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Southside Virginia Community College Report

#3

Germanna Community College

Locust Grove, VA
$4,913 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Germanna Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in Virginia. Located in the rural area of Locust Grove, Germanna Community College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Germanna Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,913 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities majors at Germanna Community College take out an average of $9,285 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Germanna Community College

$4,800 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at John Tyler Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts / sciences and humanities schools in Virginia. John Tyler Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Chester.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at John Tyler Community College are $4,800 per year. Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities majors at John Tyler Community College take out an average of $9,125 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at John Tyler Community College

$5,561 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Tidewater Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in Virginia list. Located in the midsize city of Norfolk, Tidewater Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Tidewater Community College are $5,561 per year. While working on their degree, liberal arts / sciences and humanities majors at Tidewater Community College accumulate an average of around $12,577 in student debt.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Tidewater Community College

$4,739 Average Tuition & Fees

Lord Fairfax Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. Located in the rural area of Middletown, Lord Fairfax Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lord Fairfax Community College are $4,739 per year. Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities majors at Lord Fairfax Community College take out an average of $9,132 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Lord Fairfax Community College

$4,720 Average Tuition & Fees

Patrick Henry Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students. It came in at #7 on the list. Patrick Henry is a small public school located in the rural area of Martinsville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Patrick Henry are $4,720 per year. Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities majors at Patrick Henry take out an average of $6,826 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Patrick Henry Community College Report

#8

Piedmont Virginia Community College

Charlottesville, VA
$4,790 Average Tuition & Fees

Piedmont Virginia Community College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs. PVCC is a small public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at PVCC are $4,790 per year. While working on their degree, liberal arts / sciences and humanities majors at PVCC accumulate an average of around $10,046 in student debt.

Read More…

$4,697 Average Tuition & Fees

New River Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts & Humanities Schools in Virginia ranking. NRCC is a small public school located in the town of Dublin.

NRCC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,697 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, liberal arts / sciences and humanities majors at NRCC accumulate an average of around $8,467 in student debt.

Read More…

#10

Wytheville Community College

Wytheville, VA
$4,725 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, Wytheville Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for liberal arts / sciences and humanities students. WCC is a small public school located in the town of Wytheville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WCC are $4,725 a year. After completing their degree, liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates from WCC carry an average student debtload of $9,589.

Full Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Wytheville Community College Report

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 25 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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