2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science in Virginia

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 18,368 people earned their degree in information science, making the major the 56th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, information science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $58,848 and had an average of $32,600 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 560 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,920 and $37,205 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 97 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in information science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great information science programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the information science program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science in Virginia

#1

Strayer University - Virginia

Arlington, Virginia

#3 in overall quality

$15,135 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$70,628 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Strayer University - Virginia. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia list. This small school is located in Arlington, Virginia, and it awarded 49 masters’s IS degrees in 2019-2020.

Strayer University - Virginia also took the #3 spot in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Strayer University - Virginia are $15,135.

Read more about Information Science at Strayer University - Virginia

#2

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$37,410 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$84,653 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia list. Fairfax, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s IS degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia master’s degree is students list, GMU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at George Mason University are $37,410, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Information Science at GMU

#3

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$29,228 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$90,412 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Commonwealth University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia. VCU is a large school located in Richmond, Virginia that handed out 7 masters’s IS degrees in 2019-2020.

VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at VCU are $29,228, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Information Science at VCU

#4

South University, Richmond

Glen Allen, Virginia

#4 in overall quality

$16,320 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$50,856 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South University, Richmond. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia list. South University, Richmond is a private for-profit institution located in Glen Allen, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia master’s degree is students list, South University, Richmond has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at South University, Richmond are $16,320.

Full South University, Richmond Information Science Report

#5

Stratford University

Fairfax, Virginia

#5 in overall quality

$13,518 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$69,338 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stratford University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Virginia list. This small school is located in Fairfax, Virginia, and it awarded 28 masters’s IS degrees in 2019-2020.

Stratford University also took the #5 spot in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stratford University are $13,518.

Read more about Information Science at Stratford University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to The Opte Project.

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