by our College Data Analytics Team
[Religious Studies](/majors/philosophy-and-religious-studies/religious-studies/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 12 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for religious studies students.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the religious studies degrees they offer, see the list below.
For return on investment in religious studies, no school beat Faith Evangelical College And Seminary this year. Set in the city of Tacoma, Faith Evangelical College And Seminary is a small private not-for-profit institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $8,850. Typical student debt for religious studies graduates is $17,813. Early-career religious studies graduates make about $42,103. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value.
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 12 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.