2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 23 liberal arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,680 and $116,043 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in liberal arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality liberal arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the liberal arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Liberal Arts Schools

The liberal studies school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate.

Top 5 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts

#1

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

#5 in overall quality

$14,202 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Memphis. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UofM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Liberal Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Memphis are $14,202.

Full UofM Liberal Arts Report

#1

Montana State University

Bozeman, Montana

#4 in overall quality

$21,446 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Montana State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate list. Located in Bozeman, Montana, this fairly large public school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s liberal studies students in 2019-2020.

MSU Bozeman also took the #4 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Montana State University are $21,446, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Montana State University Liberal Arts Report

#2

Emory University

Atlanta, Georgia

#2 in overall quality

$44,676 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, Emory University landed the #2 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Emory did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Liberal Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Emory are $44,676, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Liberal Arts at Emory University

#3

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, Texas

#3 in overall quality

$47,478 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Methodist University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate. SMU is a fairly large school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 3 doctorate’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

SMU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Methodist University are $47,478.

Full Southern Methodist University Liberal Arts Report

#4

Georgetown University

Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$53,591 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Liberal Studies Schools for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, Georgetown University landed the #4 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s liberal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Georgetown not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Liberal Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Georgetown are $53,591, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Liberal Arts at Georgetown University

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.

Featured Liberal Arts Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >