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Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia

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2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

10 Colleges
$16,739 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$52,474 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education School for You

General Education is one of the most popular subjects to study in Virginia. With 918 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 6th out of all the majors we track in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for teaching students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia ranking is one of many tools that Teaching Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 10 schools in Virginia to see which ones offered the best value programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia

Check out the education programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best General Education Schools

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA
$12,638 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found James Madison University to be the best value school for general education students who want to pursue a degree in Virginia. JMU is a very large public school located in the city of Harrisonburg.

JMU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,638 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on General Education at James Madison University

#2

Longwood University

Farmville, VA
$14,090 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Longwood University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia list. Located in the remote town of Farmville, Longwood is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Longwood are $14,090 a year.

Read More…

#3

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg, VA
$13,800 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Mary Washington. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia list. Located in the suburb of Fredericksburg, UMW is a public college with a small student population.

UMW undergraduate students pay an average of $13,800 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#4

University of Lynchburg

Lynchburg, VA
$33,500 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 10 schools in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Lynchburg landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Lynchburg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lynchburg are $33,500 per year.

Full General Education at University of Lynchburg Report

$19,785 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia list. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Virginia are $19,785 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, University of Virginia is ranked #1 for overall quality for education in Virginia.

Read More…

#6

Radford University

Radford, VA
$11,542 Average Tuition & Fees

Radford University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. Radford is a moderately-sized public school located in the small suburb of Radford.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Radford are $11,542 a year.

Read More…

#7

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA
$13,119 Average Tuition & Fees

George Mason University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at GMU are $13,119 a year.

GMU also took the #3 spot in our Best General Education Schools in Virginia rankings.

Read More…

$15,028 Average Tuition & Fees

Virginia Commonwealth University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Richmond, VCU is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at VCU are $15,028 a year.

Read full report on General Education at Virginia Commonwealth University

#9

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA
$16,160 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Liberty University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Liberty University are $16,160 a year. While working on their degree, education majors at Liberty University accumulate an average of around $39,000 in student debt.

Read full report on General Education at Liberty University

#10

Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA
$34,490 Average Tuition & Fees

Shenandoah University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Virginia list. Located in the small city of Winchester, Shenandoah is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Shenandoah are $34,490 a year.

Full General Education at Shenandoah University Report

Best Value General Education Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Value General Education Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kentucky 95
Tennessee 605
North Carolina 255
Georgia 117
Florida 622
West Virginia 301
South Carolina 352
Arkansas 133
Louisiana 116
Mississippi 407
Alabama 115

One of 14 majors within the teaching area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Education Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Education 29,810

Majors Similar to Education

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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