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2026 Best Value Public Master’s Degree Schools

[Public](/majors/social-sciences/sociology/public/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong public education at a price that pays off.

For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 13 schools to find the best return on investment for public students.

What’s on this page:

• Best Value Master’s Degree Public Schools
• Other Degree Levels

Insufficient Data for the United States

We do not have adequate info to produce a best-value ranking of public schools in the United States yet.

Other Public Degree Levels

Explore the best-value public schools at other degree levels:

View All Public Rankings >

Notes and References

This list is compiled 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 · 13 schools evaluated.

*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.

• 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.