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2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region

9 Ranked Colleges
255 Degrees Awarded
$21,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor's in the Plains States Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 9,704 people earned their degree in religious studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,163 and had an average of $28,712 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 342 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,667 and $23,034 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 255 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,786 and $25,576 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in religious studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality religious studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the religious studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region bachelor’s degree religion students.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Religious Studies in the Plains States Region

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region. Located in Ames, Iowa, this large public school awarded 6 degrees to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree religion students list, Iowa State has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $15,496 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, 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 Iowa State Religious Studies Report

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region. This large school is located in Iowa City, Iowa, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree religion students list, Iowa has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Iowa is $19,145 for plains states region bachelor’s degree religion students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Iowa Religious Studies Report

#3

Evangel University

Springfield, Missouri

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Evangel University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. Springfield, Missouri is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s religion degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Evangel not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Evangel University is $22,837 for plains states region bachelor’s degree religion students.

The low student loan default rate of 5.0% 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 Evangel Religious Studies Report

#4

University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas
#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Kansas. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region. University of Kansas is a public institution located in Lawrence, Kansas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

KU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend KU is $18,918 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Religion 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.

Full KU Religious Studies Report

#5

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this large public school awarded 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.

UMN Twin Cities did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMN Twin Cities is $17,740 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Religious Studies at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

#6

Concordia College at Moorhead

Moorhead, Minnesota

Concordia College at Moorhead ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. Concordia College Moorhead is a small school located in Moorhead, Minnesota that handed out 2 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Concordia College Moorhead, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Concordia College at Moorhead is $23,029 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Religion students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Religious Studies at Concordia College Moorhead

#7

University of St Thomas Minnesota

Saint Paul, Minnesota

University of St Thomas Minnesota did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 37 degrees to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree religion students list, UST MN has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of St Thomas Minnesota is $29,155 for plains states region bachelor’s degree religion students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UST MN Religious Studies Report

#8

Hamline University

Saint Paul, Minnesota
#6 in overall quality

Hamline University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region ranking. Hamline University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It awarded 8 bachelors’s religion degrees in 2019-2020.

Hamline not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $20,866 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Religion students per year to attend Hamline.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Religious Studies at Hamline

#9

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

Luther College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region list. Located in Decorah, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 7 degrees to qualified bachelors’s religion students in 2019-2020.

Luther did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Religious Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $23,620 for plains states region bachelor’s degree religion students per year to attend Luther.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Religious Studies at Luther

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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

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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Sowlos.

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