2026 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in Virginia

[Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies](/majors/ethnic-cultural-gender-studies/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
College Factual analyzed 16 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies schools.
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2026 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools in Virginia
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools
Our analysis ranked Virginia Commonwealth University the best value for a degree in area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies in Virginia. Located in the city of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University is a very large public university. Students from in state pay about $16,720 in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay about $39,884. Students borrow a median of $23,738 to complete the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program here. Soon after graduation, area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree recipients from Virginia Commonwealth University generally make around $34,991. Set against $23,738 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Virginia Commonwealth University admits about 93% of applicants.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at College Of William And Mary earned it the #2 place for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. College Of William And Mary is a large public school located in the suburb of Williamsburg. Students from in state pay about $25,734 in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay about $51,038. Students borrow a median of $15,250 to complete the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program here. Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies graduates of College Of William And Mary earn a median of $53,779 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. The acceptance rate is 34%.
A rank of #3 makes University Of Virginia Main Campus one of the best values for area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies. University Of Virginia Main Campus is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville. Students from in state pay about $23,118 in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay about $61,591. Students borrow a median of $22,153 to complete the area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies program here. Soon after graduation, area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies degree recipients from University Of Virginia Main Campus generally make around $34,266. Set against $22,153 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. University Of Virginia Main Campus admits about 17% of applicants.
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Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 16 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.