2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Design & Applied Arts is the 34th most popular major in the country with 36,854 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, design and applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,542 and had an average of $27,114 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 920 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,840 and $28,070 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 75 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in design and applied arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent design and applied arts programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the design and applied arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Virginia (With Aid)

#1

George Mason University

Fairfax, Virginia

$37,410 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. George Mason University is a large public school situated in Fairfax, Virginia. It awarded 2 masters’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

GMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #0 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at GMU are $37,410, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full GMU Design & Applied Arts Report

#2

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia

#2 in overall quality

$29,228 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Richmond, Virginia, and it awarded 12 masters’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

VCU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Virginia Commonwealth University are $29,228.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University

#3

Marymount University

Arlington, Virginia

#1 in overall quality

$20,116 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Marymount University landed the #3 spot on the list. This small school is located in Arlington, Virginia, and it awarded 16 masters’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

Marymount not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Marymount are $20,116.

Full Marymount University Design & Applied Arts Report

#4

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia

#3 in overall quality

$8,349 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Virginia For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Liberty University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 45 degrees to qualified masters’s design students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Liberty University, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Liberty University are $8,349, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Liberty University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Southeast Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (With Aid)

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.

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