2023 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
14
Ranked Colleges
2,005
Degrees Awarded
$10,400
Avg Net Price*
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 Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 9,470 people earned their degree in religious studies, making the major the 90th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,289 and had an average of $24,431 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southeast region, there were 2,005 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,841 and $25,705 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in religious studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality religious studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the religious studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Religious Studies Schools
The religion 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 Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k”.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 14 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Durham, North Carolina, and it awarded 22 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Duke, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $371 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Duke.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.3%, 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 97%.
Full Duke Religious Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanderbilt University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 16 degrees to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.
Vanderbilt also took the #3 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $3,176 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Vanderbilt University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full Vanderbilt Religious Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Emory University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and it awarded 21 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k list, Emory has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Emory is $8,538 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 Emory University Religious Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, this large public school awarded 26 degrees to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNC Chapel Hill, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UNC Chapel Hill is $3,753 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at UNC Chapel Hill
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Florida. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Florida is located in Gainesville, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.
UF did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Florida is $65 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at UF
University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. University of Virginia - Main Campus is located in Charlottesville, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 66 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.
University of Virginia also took the #4 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Virginia is $12,476 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at University of Virginia
Florida State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Tallahassee, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s religion degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.
Florida State also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $4,950 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Florida State.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Florida State University Religious Studies Report
Florida International University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. Florida International University is a large public school situated in Miami, Florida. It awarded 13 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
FIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The yearly cost to attend FIU is $3,196 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Religious Studies at Florida International University
University of North Carolina at Charlotte ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it awarded 30 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
UNC Charlotte also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $12,751 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read more about Religious Studies at University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Georgia State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #10. This large school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and it awarded 13 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Georgia State, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Georgia State is $15,197 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Religious Studies at Georgia State
With a ranking of #11, Carson - Newman University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Carson - Newman is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Jefferson City, Tennessee. It awarded 12 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
Carson - Newman did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Carson - Newman University is $15,092 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Religious Studies at Carson - Newman University
With a ranking of #12, Gardner - Webb University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Gardner - Webb is a small school located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina that handed out 15 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k list, Gardner - Webb has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Gardner - Webb University is $18,796 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at Gardner - Webb
Liberty University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Liberty University is located in Lynchburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 801 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k list, Liberty University has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $29,786 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Liberty University.
Full Liberty University Religious Studies Report
Saint Leo University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Saint Leo, Florida, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 21 diplomas to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.
St. Leo University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list. It costs about $17,060 for southeast region religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend St. Leo University.
Read full report on Religious Studies at St. Leo University
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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
- *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
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Sowlos.
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