2023 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Southeast Region
14
Ranked Colleges
2,005
Degrees Awarded
$10,900
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 9,470 people earned their degree in religious studies, making the major the 90th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,289 and had an average of $24,431 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southeast region, there were 2,005 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,841 and $25,705 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in religious studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality religious studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the religious studies 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.
More Ways to Rank Religious Studies Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k
The colleges and universities below are the best for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
Top 14 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Southeast Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Duke University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Durham, North Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 22 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k list, Duke has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Duke University is $-927 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k. The negative number means the student will receive more financial aid on average than it costs to attend the school.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.3% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Religious Studies at Duke
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Emory University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Emory University is a fairly large school located in Atlanta, Georgia that handed out 21 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
Emory not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Emory is $8,976 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Religious Studies at Emory
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Vanderbilt University landed the #3 spot on the list. Vanderbilt University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 16 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Vanderbilt also took the #3 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $4,652 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Vanderbilt.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Vanderbilt Religious Studies Report
Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it awarded 26 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
UNC Chapel Hill also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $5,729 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 95%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Florida. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this large public school awarded 15 diplomas to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.
UF also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend UF is $2,857 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Religious Studies at UF
Florida State University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Florida State is a large public school situated in Tallahassee, Florida. It awarded 25 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Florida State, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Florida State University is $7,349 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Full Florida State Religious Studies Report
University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it awarded 66 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Virginia also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for University of Virginia - Main Campus is $10,063 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Religious Studies at University of Virginia
Florida International University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Florida International University is a large school located in Miami, Florida that handed out 13 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k list, FIU has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Florida International University is $4,882 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Florida International University Religious Studies Report
University of North Carolina at Charlotte came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. UNC Charlotte is a large public school situated in Charlotte, North Carolina. It awarded 30 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
UNC Charlotte did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list. It costs about $13,226 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Read more about Religious Studies at UNC Charlotte
Georgia State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #10. This large school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and it awarded 13 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Georgia State, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Georgia State is $15,767 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
Read full report on Religious Studies at Georgia State
Carson - Newman University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Carson - Newman is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.
Carson - Newman also took the #11 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $16,764 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Carson - Newman University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Carson - Newman Religious Studies Report
Liberty University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Liberty University is a large school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 801 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k list, Liberty University has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Liberty University is $27,251 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
Read more about Religious Studies at Liberty University
Saint Leo University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. St. Leo University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Saint Leo, Florida. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 21 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
St. Leo University also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #14. It costs about $17,191 for southeast region religion students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Saint Leo University.
Read more about Religious Studies at Saint Leo University
With a ranking of #14, Gardner - Webb University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Religion Schools in the Southeast Region For Those Making $30-$48k list. Gardner - Webb University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. The school has a small population, and it awarded 15 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Gardner - Webb did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Gardner - Webb University is $19,220 for Southeast Region Religion students whose families make $30-$48k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Read more about Religious Studies at Gardner - Webb 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
- *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 Sowlos.
