by our College Data Analytics Team
[Religious Studies](/majors/philosophy-and-religious-studies/religious-studies/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
College Factual analyzed 4 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value religious studies schools.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the religious studies degrees they offer, see the list below.
For return on investment in religious studies, no school beat American Public University System this year. Located in the town of Charles Town, American Public University System is a very large private for-profit university. Students from in state pay about $8,400 in tuition and fees. Students borrow a median of $21,000 to complete the religious studies program here. Early-career religious studies graduates make about $57,404. That is a strong return on a $21,000 median debt.
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.