2024 Best Health & Physical Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia

Ranked #23 in popularity, health & physical education is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 7 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Health & Physical Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 417 master's degrees in health & physical education during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Health & Physical Education School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of health & physical education for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on health & physical education students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of health & physical education students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for health & physical education to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized health & physical education related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for health & physical education students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Health & Physical Education Master's Degree Schools in Virginia list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Health & Physical Education in Virginia

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in health & physical education.

Top Virginia Schools for a Master's in Phys Ed

1

University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA

33 Annual Graduates

$49,953 Median Starting Salary

University of Virginia - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in health & physical education. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those health & physical education students who get their master's degree from University of Virginia - Main Campus receive $9,294 more than the typical phys ed student.

More information about a master’s in health & physical education from University of Virginia - Main Campus

2

George Mason University
Fairfax, VA

31 Annual Graduates

George Mason University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a master's degree in health & physical education. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in health & physical education from George Mason University

3

James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA

34 Annual Graduates

$41,375 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat James Madison University if you want to pursue a master's degree in health & physical education. Located in the city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, phys ed master's recipients usually make an average of $41,375 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in health & physical education from James Madison University

4

Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA

206 Annual Graduates

$37,702 Median Starting Salary

Liberty University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in health & physical education. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Lynchburg.

Students who graduate with their master's from the phys ed program report average early career wages of $37,702.

More information about a master’s in health & physical education from Liberty University

5

Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA

33 Annual Graduates

Old Dominion is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Norfolk.More information about a master’s in health & physical education from Old Dominion University

6

Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA

47 Annual Graduates

$38,805 Median Starting Salary

VCU is a very large public university located in the city of Richmond.

Students who graduate with their master's from the phys ed program report average early career earnings of $38,805.

More information about a master’s in health & physical education from Virginia Commonwealth University

7

Randolph College
Lynchburg, VA

8 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Randolph is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.More information about a master’s in health & physical education from Randolph College

7

Hampton University
Hampton, VA

11 Annual Graduates

$35,460 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Hampton, Hampton is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Master's students who receive their degree from the phys ed program make around $35,460 in their early career salary.

More information about a master’s in health & physical education from Hampton University

Best Health & Physical Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Health & Physical Education Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	208	409
Georgia	190	293
North Carolina	178	194
Tennessee	166	269
Alabama	151	160
Kentucky	147	151
Louisiana	147	152
South Carolina	146	171
Mississippi	145	147
Arkansas	121	270
West Virginia	112	216

View All Rankings >

Health & Physical Education Related Rankings by Major

One of 4 majors within the Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies area of study, Health & Physical Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Phys Ed Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Sports Management	249
Exercise Science and Kinesiology	142
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General	18
Sports Studies	8

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Recreation Administration	2

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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.