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Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in West Virginia

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2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in West Virginia

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

5 Colleges
$8,359 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$38,472 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Public Administration & Social Service School for You

Public Administration & Social Service is the #17 most popular major in West Virginia with 504 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

The Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in West Virginia ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in West Virginia to see which programs offered the best value experiences for public administration and social service students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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 Public Administration & Social Service Schools in West Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges.

Best West Virginia Schools for Affordable Quality in Public & Social Service

Our analysis found American Public University System to be the best value school for public administration and social service students who want to pursue a degree in West Virginia. American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.

American Military University undergraduate students pay an average of $7,360 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, American Military University is ranked #1 for overall quality for public administration and social service in West Virginia.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at American Public University System Report

#2

West Virginia University

Morgantown, WV

Out of the 5 schools in West Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, West Virginia University landed the # 2 spot on the list. WVU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Morgantown.

WVU undergraduate students pay an average of $9,144 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, public administration and social service graduates from WVU take out $26,000 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $589, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

WVU did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Public & Social Service Schools in West Virginia list.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at West Virginia University Report

#3

Concord University

Athens, WV

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Concord University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in West Virginia list. Concord University is a small public school located in the town of Athens.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Concord University are $8,690 per year. While working on their degree, public administration and social service majors at Concord University accumulate an average of around $20,625 in student debt.

Read full report on Public Administration & Social Service at Concord University

#4

Marshall University

Huntington, WV

Out of the 5 schools in West Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Marshall University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Huntington, Marshall University is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Marshall University are $8,552 per year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at Marshall University take out is $31,470.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at Marshall University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Virginia State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Public & Social Service Schools in West Virginia list. WVSU is a small public school located in the suburb of Institute.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WVSU are $8,833 per year. The average amount in student loans that public administration and social service majors at WVSU take out is $39,209.

Full Public Administration & Social Service at West Virginia State University Report

Best Value Public Administration & Social Service Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
North Carolina 2,840
South Carolina 708
Florida 4,199
Virginia 2,154
Arkansas 683
Mississippi 752
Louisiana 1,118
Alabama 1,668
Kentucky 2,072
Georgia 1,475
Tennessee 1,564

Public Administration & Social Service Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Social Work 58,326
Public Administration 16,905
Human Services 13,238
Public Policy 6,430
Community Organization & Advocacy 3,096
Other Public Administration 588

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 73,813
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 5 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 University of the Fraser Valley.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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