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Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

2023 Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

8 Colleges
$14,388 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$52,728 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 602 degrees and certificates were awarded to public administration students who went to a Virginia college or university. This makes it the #55 most popular major in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Public Administration Master's Degree Schools in Virginia to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in Virginia to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for public admin students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Best Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Public Administration

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Our analysis found James Madison University to be the best value school for public administration students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Virginia. JMU is a very large public school located in the city of Harrisonburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at JMU are $12,514 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, JMU is ranked #5 for overall quality for public admin in Virginia.

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#2

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Out of the 8 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Tech landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.

Virginia Tech graduate students pay an average of $16,522 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Virginia Tech not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.

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#3

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public Administration Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at GMU are $16,644 a year.

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#4

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Liberty University is a great value for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Liberty University graduate students pay an average of $8,360 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#5

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

Out of the 8 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Old Dominion University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Norfolk, Old Dominion is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Old Dominion are $13,224 a year.

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With a ranking of #6, Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for public administration students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Richmond, VCU is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at VCU are $15,518 per year.

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#7

Regent University

Virginia Beach, VA

Regent University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Regent is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Virginia Beach.

Regent graduate students pay an average of $17,190 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Strayer University - Virginia did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for public administration students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Strayer University - Virginia is a small private for-profit school located in the midsize city of Arlington.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Strayer University - Virginia are $15,135 per year.

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Best Value Public Administration Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value Public Administration Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 401
North Carolina 469
Florida 1,032
Tennessee 107
Kentucky 123
South Carolina 88
Louisiana 121
Arkansas 186
Alabama 396
Mississippi 84
West Virginia 132

One of 5 majors within the area of study, public administration has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 58,326
Human Services 13,238
Public Policy 6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 8 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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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