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2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia

14 Ranked Colleges
2,038 Degrees Awarded
$21,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Liberal Studies 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. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking.

With 365,980 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, liberal arts is the 2nd most popular major in the United States.

Across Virginia, there were 5,748 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,038 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts Schools

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

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia

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

Top 14 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts in Virginia

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, Virginia
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. JMU is a large public school situated in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It awarded 290 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, JMU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend JMU is $22,169 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full JMU Liberal Arts Report

#2

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia
#2 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 #2 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. George Mason University is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 82 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at GMU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend GMU is $21,048 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Liberal Arts at George Mason University

#3

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, Virginia
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Mary Washington. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. University of Mary Washington is a small school located in Fredericksburg, Virginia that handed out 83 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, UMW has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UMW is $21,907 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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%.

Full University of Mary Washington Liberal Arts Report

#4

Longwood University

Farmville, Virginia
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Longwood University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Longwood University is a small school located in Farmville, Virginia that handed out 121 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Longwood also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for Longwood University is $19,462 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Full Longwood University Liberal Arts Report

#5

Virginia State University

Petersburg, Virginia
#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Petersburg, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

Virginia State also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Virginia State University is $16,970 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Virginia State University

#6

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia
#10 in overall quality

Liberty University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Liberty University is a large school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 94 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Liberty University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Liberty University is $28,903 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

Full Liberty University Liberal Arts Report

#7

Southern Virginia University

Buena Vista, Virginia
#14 in overall quality

Southern Virginia University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Buena Vista, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

SVU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend SVU is $19,000 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Southern Virginia University

#8

Mary Baldwin University

Staunton, Virginia
#13 in overall quality

Mary Baldwin University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking. Mary Baldwin is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Staunton, Virginia. It awarded 36 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students list, Mary Baldwin has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $16,982 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students per year to attend Mary Baldwin.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Mary Baldwin

#9

Bridgewater College

Bridgewater, Virginia
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Bridgewater College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Bridgewater College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Bridgewater, Virginia. It awarded 16 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bridgewater, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $17,929 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend Bridgewater College.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Bridgewater College

#10

Eastern Mennonite University

Harrisonburg, Virginia
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, Eastern Mennonite University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Eastern Mennonite is a small school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia that handed out 18 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Eastern Mennonite, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $23,763 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students per year to attend Eastern Mennonite University.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Eastern Mennonite University

#11

Averett University

Danville, Virginia
#12 in overall quality

Averett University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia ranking, coming in at #11. AU is located in Danville, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees to qualified students.

AU also made our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #12. The estimated yearly cost for Averett University is $23,516 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

Full Averett University Liberal Arts Report

#12

Marymount University

Arlington, Virginia
#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #12, Marymount University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Located in Arlington, Virginia, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 8 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

Marymount also took the #11 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Marymount is $26,078 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.

Full Marymount University Liberal Arts Report

#13

Ferrum College

Ferrum, Virginia
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, Ferrum College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. This small school is located in Ferrum, Virginia, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Ferrum College, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ferrum College is $22,159 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies students.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Ferrum College

#14

University of Richmond

University of Richmond, Virginia
#4 in overall quality

University of Richmond ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. Located in University of Richmond, Virginia, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 8 degrees to qualified bachelors’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at URichmond, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. The yearly cost to attend URichmond is $25,838 for virginia bachelor’s degree liberal studies students.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at URichmond

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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.

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