Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Engineering

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering in Virginia

10 Ranked Colleges
3,333 Degrees Awarded
$21,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in Virginia

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

With 200,458 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, engineering is the 6th most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,888 and had an average of $23,564 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 5,222 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 3,333 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality engineering programs that also have a lower cost than 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 engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Engineering Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia

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

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering in Virginia

#1

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Tech landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Blacksburg, Virginia, this large public school awarded 1,524 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

Virginia Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $21,198 for virginia bachelor’s degree engineering students per year to attend Virginia Tech.

The low student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Virginia Tech Engineering Report

#2

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, Virginia
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, James Madison University landed the #2 spot on the list. James Madison University is a public institution located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 78 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

JMU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for James Madison University is $22,169 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at James Madison University

#3

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. This large school is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it awarded 511 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree engineering students list, University of Virginia has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Virginia - Main Campus is $20,397 for virginia bachelor’s degree engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Virginia Engineering Report

#4

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Mason University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. GMU is a large public school situated in Fairfax, Virginia. It awarded 340 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

GMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $21,048 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students per year to attend GMU.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at GMU

#5

Christopher Newport University

Newport News, Virginia
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Christopher Newport University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. Located in Newport News, Virginia, this small public school awarded 27 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CNU, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Christopher Newport University is $25,596 for virginia bachelor’s degree engineering students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Engineering at Christopher Newport University

#6

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, Virginia
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Old Dominion University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Located in Norfolk, Virginia, this large public school handed out 306 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

Old Dominion did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Old Dominion University is $16,493 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students.

Full Old Dominion Engineering Report

#6 in overall quality

Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Located in Richmond, Virginia, this large public school handed out 260 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree engineering students list, VCU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for VCU is $22,021 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at VCU

#8

Virginia State University

Petersburg, Virginia
#9 in overall quality

Virginia State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking, coming in at #8. Petersburg, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

Virginia State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $16,970 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students per year to attend Virginia State.

Read more about Engineering at Virginia State

#9

Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, Virginia
#8 in overall quality

Virginia Military Institute landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. VMI is located in Lexington, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 85 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

VMI also took the #8 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $17,804 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students per year to attend VMI.

The low student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Engineering at VMI

#10

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia
#10 in overall quality

Liberty University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking, coming in at #10. Liberty University is located in Lynchburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 80 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

Liberty University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. It costs about $28,903 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students per year to attend Liberty University.

Read full report on Engineering at Liberty University

Switch to a More Focused Major

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

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You