by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking is part of that endeavor. You may be surprised that some normally high-priced schools offer very generous financial aid packages to those who qualify.
In This Year's Value Report:
Our analysis looked at 88 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones have the best value Master's Degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
The first step of determing the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking is to look at the school's average net price for students with families that make $30-$48k a year. The net price is the sum of tuition, fees, and room and board minus any financial aid awarded to the student. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
We go into more detail on these factors on our best value ranking methodology page.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named Rice University the best value (income $30-$48k) school in the Southwest Region for students working on their master’s degree. Houston, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Rice University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Texas for overall quality.
The quality degree programs at University of North Texas helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region. Located in Denton, Texas, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of North Texas is ranked #13 for quality in the state of Texas.
The quality degree programs at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region. UT Rio Grande Valley is a public institution located in Edinburg, Texas.
Not only is The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley a great value, but it is also ranked #18 in Texas for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
A rank of #4 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region list means The University of Texas at Austin is a great place for students working on their degree. Located in Austin, Texas, the school is a large public institution.
Not only is The University of Texas at Austin a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Texas for overall quality.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Oklahoma State University - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region list. Stillwater, Oklahoma is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Oklahoma State University - Main Campus a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Oklahoma for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus
Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #6 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. ASU - Tempe is located in Tempe, Arizona and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Arizona State University - Tempe has the honor of being ranked #1 in Arizona for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #7, The University of Texas at Dallas did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region list. This large public school is located in Richardson, Texas.
The University of Texas at Dallas has the honor of being ranked #7 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #8 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region list. Texas A&M College Station is located in College Station, Texas and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Texas A&M University - College Station a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Texas for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at Texas A&M University - College Station
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Permian Basin is a public institution located in Odessa, Texas.
Not only is The University of Texas of the Permian Basin a great value, but it is also ranked #40 in Texas for overall quality.
Read full value report on The University of Texas of the Permian Basin
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology ranked #10 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region list. Located in Socorro, New Mexico, the school is a small public institution.
Not only is New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in New Mexico for overall quality.
Read full value report on New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Texas A&M International University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas A&M International University is a medium-sized public school located in Laredo, Texas.
Texas A&M International University has the honor of being ranked #45 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Trinity University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region list. Trinity U is a small private not-for-profit school situated in San Antonio, Texas.
Trinity University has the honor of being ranked #12 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. ENMU - Main Campus is located in Portales, New Mexico and has a small student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus a great value, but it is also ranked #6 in New Mexico for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus
Texas Tech University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas Tech is a public institution located in Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech University has the honor of being ranked #8 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Houston came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. UH is a public institution located in Houston, Texas.
Not only is University of Houston a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in Texas for overall quality.
Lamar University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. Lamar University is a fairly large public school located in Beaumont, Texas.
Lamar University has the honor of being ranked #11 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
The University of Texas at San Antonio came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. UTSA is a public institution located in San Antonio, Texas.
The University of Texas at San Antonio has the honor of being ranked #24 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on The University of Texas at San Antonio
Texas Woman’s University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #18. Texas Woman’s University is a fairly large public school located in Denton, Texas.
Texas Woman’s University has the honor of being ranked #15 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. Durant, Oklahoma is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Southeastern Oklahoma State University a great value, but it is also ranked #8 in Oklahoma for overall quality.
With a ranking of #20, The University of Texas at Tyler did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region list. UT Tyler is a medium-sized public school situated in Tyler, Texas.
Not only is The University of Texas at Tyler a great value, but it is also ranked #29 in Texas for overall quality.
Northern Arizona University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #21. NAU is a large public school situated in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Northern Arizona University has the honor of being ranked #5 in Arizona for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Arizona came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. This large public school is located in Tucson, Arizona.
University of Arizona has the honor of being ranked #2 in Arizona for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Northeastern State University landed the #23 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking. NSU is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Northeastern State University a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in Oklahoma for overall quality.
University of Phoenix - Arizona did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #24. Phoenix, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a private for-profit school.
University of Phoenix - Arizona has the honor of being ranked #3 in Arizona for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Dallas ranked #25 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in the Southwest Region list. University of Dallas is a small private not-for-profit school located in Irving, Texas.
University of Dallas has the honor of being ranked #19 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.