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2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k

301 Ranked Colleges
18,793 Degrees Awarded
$30,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value General Education Schools for a Master's For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

General Education is the 28th most popular major in the country with 29,936 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 18,793 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,398 and $43,194 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 301 colleges that offer a degree in general education. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general education programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general education program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Education Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for master’s degree general education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 25 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k)

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 81 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Stanford also made our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at Stanford are $55,011, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Education at Stanford

#2

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 157 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

UPenn did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Pennsylvania are $41,760.

Read full report on General Education at University of Pennsylvania

#3

Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Harvard University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 596 diplomas to qualified masters’s general education students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our master’s degree general education students whose families make $0-$30k list, Harvard has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Harvard University are $50,654, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Education at Harvard University

#4

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 301 schools in the Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Johns Hopkins University landed the #4 spot on the list. Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit institution located in Baltimore, Maryland. The school has a large population, and it awarded 618 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Johns Hopkins also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Johns Hopkins University are $59,425, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Education at Johns Hopkins University

#11 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. U-M is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 119 masters’s general education degrees to qualified students.

U-M not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at U-M are $49,548.

Read more about General Education at U-M

California State University - Dominguez Hills landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Carson, California, and it awarded 179 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at CSUDH are $17,884.

Full CSUDH General Education Report

#5 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 169 degrees to qualified masters’s general education students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on General Education at UIUC

Top 25% in overall quality

California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. California State University - Los Angeles is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 108 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Los Angeles are $17,723, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on General Education at Cal State LA

Top 15% in overall quality

California State University - Fresno came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Fresno is a large public school situated in Fresno, California. It awarded 134 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Fresno State is also in the top of our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Fresno are $17,581, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Education at California State University - Fresno

Top 25% in overall quality

California State University - Fullerton ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s general education degrees to 274 students in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at Cal State Fullerton are $17,892, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on General Education at California State University - Fullerton

#11

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Top 15% in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. UNC Chapel Hill is a large public school situated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It awarded 20 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

UNC Chapel Hill also claimed a top spot on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are $30,248.

Read full report on General Education at UNC Chapel Hill

#12

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana
#6 in overall quality

Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 186 masters’s general education degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Purdue, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Purdue University - Main Campus are $28,794, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on General Education at Purdue University - Main Campus

California State University - Bakersfield came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. CSUB is located in Bakersfield, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 151 masters’s general education degrees to qualified students.

Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Bakersfield are $18,437, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Education at CSUB

California State University - Stanislaus ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Stanislaus is a fairly large public school situated in Turlock, California. It awarded 116 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Stan State are $18,540.

Full California State University - Stanislaus General Education Report

California State University - Long Beach ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Long Beach is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 103 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Long Beach are $17,784, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Education at CSULB

#16

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California
#7 in overall quality

University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #16. UCLA is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 176 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

UCLA not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCLA are $28,131, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Education at University of California - Los Angeles

#17

Tufts University

Medford, Massachusetts
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #17, Tufts University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Tufts University is a fairly large school located in Medford, Massachusetts that handed out 9 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Tufts not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Tufts University are $55,168.

Full Tufts General Education Report

#18

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, California
Top 15% in overall quality

University of California - Riverside landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This large school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 175 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on this list, UCR is in the top on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCR are $28,686.

Full University of California - Riverside General Education Report

California State University - Northridge landed the #19 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California State University - Northridge is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 74 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at CSUN are $17,955, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on General Education at California State University - Northridge

#24 in overall quality

University of Minnesota - Duluth did quite well in the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #20. Duluth, Minnesota is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s general education degrees to 20 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Duluth, the school also landed the #24 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UMN Duluth are $28,606.

Read more about General Education at University of Minnesota - Duluth

#25 in overall quality

With a ranking of #21, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. UC Irvine is a public institution located in Irvine, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also took the #25 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Irvine are $28,456.

Read more about General Education at University of California - Irvine

#22

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California
#18 in overall quality

University of California - Berkeley came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 14 masters’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Berkeley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #18 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Berkeley are $29,347, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Education at University of California - Berkeley

#23

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

With a ranking of #23, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s general education degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at IU Bloomington, the school also landed the #0 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Indiana University - Bloomington are $33,338, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Education at Indiana University - Bloomington

Texas A & M University - Central Texas came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Texas A & M University - Central Texas is located in Killeen, Texas and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 masters’s general education degrees to qualified students.

Average graduate tuition and fees at Texas A & M University - Central Texas are $13,561, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Texas A & M University - Central Texas General Education Report

#25

University of Central Florida

Orlando, Florida

University of Central Florida landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Central Florida is located in Orlando, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 masters’s general education degrees to qualified students.

Average graduate tuition and fees at UCF are $28,657, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Education at UCF

Rest of the Best 47 in Best Value General Education Schools for a Master’s For Those Making $0-$30k

Not only did these schools make the top 47 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

#26

University of Wyoming

Laramie, Wyoming
#28

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan
#31

University of Georgia

Athens, Georgia
#32

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#33

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California
#35

Towson University

Towson, Maryland
#37

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Fairbanks, Alaska
#38

University of Wisconsin - Platteville

Platteville, Wisconsin
#39

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, Virginia
#40

Eastern Washington University

Cheney, Washington
#43

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington
#44

University of North Texas

Denton, Texas
#46

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#46

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

Stevens Point, Wisconsin

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 KOKUYO.

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