2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 3rd of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 559,661 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $26,786 and had an average of $16,538 in loans still to pay off.
At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,990 liberal arts / sciences and humanities graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,398 and $43,194 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 87 colleges that offer a degree in liberal arts / sciences and humanities. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent liberal arts / sciences and humanities programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the liberal arts / sciences and humanities program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The liberal arts / sciences & humanities school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for master’s degree liberal arts / sciences & humanities students.
Top 25 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American Public University System. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. Located in Charles Town, West Virginia, this large private for-profit school awarded 37 diplomas to qualified masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities students in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at American Military University are $7,050, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at American Military University
Out of the 87 schools in the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 10 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
MSMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Mount Saint Mary’s University are $12,612, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at MSMU
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend North Central College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. North Central College is located in Naperville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at North Central, the school also landed the #24 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at North Central are $15,822.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at North Central College
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. Arizona State University - Skysong is a large public school situated in Scottsdale, Arizona. It awarded 32 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at ASU - Skysong are $6,724, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Full ASU - Skysong Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. UT Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 20 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UT Austin also took the #8 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Texas at Austin are $22,886, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at UT Austin
With a ranking of #6, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. This large school is located in Norman, Oklahoma, and it awarded 160 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
University of Oklahoma did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 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 Oklahoma Norman Campus are $23,236.
Full University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Adams State University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking. Alamosa, Colorado is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Adams State University are $10,551.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Adams State University
Wayland Baptist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #8. Wayland Baptist University is a small school located in Plainview, Texas that handed out 2 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Wayland Baptist University are $14,710, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Full Wayland Baptist University Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Villanova University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #9. Villanova University is a fairly large school located in Villanova, Pennsylvania that handed out 3 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Villanova also took the #11 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Villanova University are $20,719, but some majors have different tuition rates.
University of Memphis ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. UofM is a public institution located in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 17 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Memphis are $14,202, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Full University of Memphis Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
St John’s College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #11. St. John’s Annapolis is a small school located in Annapolis, Maryland that handed out 27 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
St. John’s Annapolis also made our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #25. Average graduate tuition and fees at St John’s College are $19,316, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at St. John’s Annapolis
DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #12. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 19 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #18 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at DePaul University
The Graduate Center, CUNY ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. New York, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 79 students in 2019-2020.
The Graduate Center did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at The Graduate Center are $23,640.
Full The Graduate Center, CUNY Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Tennessee State University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. Tennessee State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 25 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Tennessee State University are $20,860, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Tennessee State University
Excelsior University landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking. Excelsior University is located in Albany, New York and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Excelsior University
Tennessee Technological University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking. Tennessee Tech University is located in Cookeville, Tennessee and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 31 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Tennessee Technological University are $20,498, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Tennessee Technological University
Tiffin University landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking. This small school is located in Tiffin, Ohio, and it awarded 35 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Tiffin University are $13,000.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Tiffin University
University of South Florida - Main Campus came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking. USF Tampa is a public institution located in Tampa, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 27 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at USF Tampa are $21,126, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at University of South Florida - Main Campus
With a ranking of #19, North Carolina State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. North Carolina State University is a large school located in Raleigh, North Carolina that handed out 17 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
NC State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at NC State are $28,999.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at North Carolina State University
California State University - Northridge landed the #20 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking. California State University - Northridge is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to qualified students.
Average graduate tuition and fees at CSUN are $17,955, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at CSUN
Northern Kentucky University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s list. Northern Kentucky University is a fairly large public school situated in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It awarded 11 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Kentucky University are $17,358, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Northern Kentucky University
Austin Peay State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #22. Clarksville, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 36 students in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Austin Peay State University are $14,669, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read more about Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Austin Peay State University
University of Richmond landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking. University of Richmond is a small school located in University of Richmond, Virginia that handed out 7 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at URichmond, the school also landed the #17 spot in our “Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Master’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at URichmond are $25,260.
Baker University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #24. Baldwin City, Kansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Baker University are $11,844, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Full Baker University Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Report
Middle Tennessee State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #25. Middle Tennessee State University is a large school located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee that handed out 34 masters’s liberal arts / sciences and humanities degrees in 2019-2020.
Average graduate tuition and fees at Middle Tennessee State University are $26,172, but some majors have different tuition rates.
Read full report on Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities at Middle Tennessee State University
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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 Jacques Sablet (Switzerland, Morges, 1749-1803).
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