2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration in Virginia

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking.

Public Administration is the 58th most popular major in the country with 17,269 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,859 and had an average of $42,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 515 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,860 and $39,579 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 96 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in public administration. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public administration programs, but they also cost less that 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 public administration program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration in Virginia

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$22,169 Average Net Price

$41,406 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia. James Madison University is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 59 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

JMU also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend JMU is $22,169 for Virginia Bachelor’s Degree Public Admin students.

The low student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 89%.

Read full report on Public Administration at James Madison University

#2

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$21,048 Average Net Price

$43,798 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia list. George Mason University is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 23 bachelors’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

GMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for George Mason University is $21,048 for virginia bachelor’s degree public admin students.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 86%.

Read full report on Public Administration at George Mason University

#3

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia

#3 in overall quality

$28,903 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools for a Bachelor’s in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Liberty University landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Lynchburg, Virginia, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

Liberty University also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Liberty University is $28,903 for virginia bachelor’s degree public admin students.

Read full report on Public Administration at Liberty University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Administration

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 The Official CTBTO Photostream.

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