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. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. 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 $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking is to look at the school's average net price for students with families that make $48-$75k 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 good 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 analysis found Rice University to be the best value (income $48-$75k) school for master’s degrees in the Southwest Region in this year’s ranking. Rice is located in Houston, Texas and has a medium-sized student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Rice University has the honor of being ranked #1 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region list. Located in Edinburg, Texas, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is ranked #18 for quality in the state of Texas.
The quality degree programs at The University of Texas at Austin helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region. Austin, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is The University of Texas at Austin a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Texas for overall quality.
Out of the 88 master’s degree schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Trinity University landed the #4 spot on the list. Trinity U is located in San Antonio, Texas and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Trinity University is ranked #12 for quality in the state of Texas.
Out of the 88 master’s degree schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas A&M International University landed the #5 spot on the list. Texas A&M International University is a public institution 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.
Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #6. ENMU - Main Campus is a small public school situated in Portales, New Mexico.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus is ranked #6 for quality in the state of New Mexico.
Learn More About Value at Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus
University of Houston did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #7. This large public school is located in Houston, Texas.
University of Houston has the honor of being ranked #9 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Texas Woman’s University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Denton, Texas.
Not only is Texas Woman’s University a great value, but it is also ranked #15 in Texas for overall quality.
The University of Texas at Dallas came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Dallas is a public institution located in Richardson, Texas.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, The University of Texas at Dallas is ranked #7 for quality in the state of Texas.
Oklahoma State University - Main Campus ranked #10 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region list. OSU is a public institution located in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State University - Main Campus has the honor of being ranked #2 in Oklahoma for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on Oklahoma State University - Main Campus
Arizona State University - Tempe did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #11. Arizona State University - Tempe is a large public school located in Tempe, Arizona.
Arizona State University - Tempe has the honor of being ranked #1 in Arizona for overall quality on top of being a good value.
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. The University of Texas of the Permian Basin is a medium-sized public school 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
With a ranking of #13, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region list. New Mexico Tech is located in Socorro, New Mexico and has a small student population. It is a public school.
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.
Learn More About Value at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Texas A & M University - Central Texas landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas A & M University - Central Texas is a small public school situated in Killeen, Texas.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Texas A & M University - Central Texas is ranked #52 for quality in the state of Texas.
Read full value report on Texas A & M University - Central Texas
University of North Texas came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. 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.
Texas Tech University landed the #16 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas Tech is located in Lubbock, Texas and has a large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Texas Tech University a great value, but it is also ranked #8 in Texas for overall quality.
Lamar University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #17. This fairly large public school is located in Beaumont, Texas.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Lamar University is ranked #11 for quality in the state of Texas.
University of Phoenix - Arizona landed the #18 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. University of Phoenix - Arizona is a large private for-profit school located in Phoenix, Arizona.
Not only is University of Phoenix - Arizona a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Arizona for overall quality.
The University of Texas at San Antonio did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #19. UTSA is a large public school situated in San Antonio, Texas.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, The University of Texas at San Antonio is ranked #24 for quality in the state of Texas.
Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #20 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas A&M College Station is a large public school situated in College Station, Texas.
Texas A&M University - College Station has the honor of being ranked #3 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at Texas A&M University - College Station
University of Dallas landed the #21 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Irving, Texas.
Not only is University of Dallas a great value, but it is also ranked #19 in Texas for overall quality.
The University of Texas at Arlington landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Arlington is a large public school situated in Arlington, Texas.
The University of Texas at Arlington has the honor of being ranked #10 in Texas for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on The University of Texas at Arlington
University of Arizona did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #23. University of Arizona is located in Tucson, Arizona and has a large student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Arizona is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Arizona.
Northern Arizona University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region ranking. Northern Arizona University is a large public school located in Flagstaff, Arizona.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Northern Arizona University is ranked #5 for quality in the state of Arizona.
With a ranking of #25, Southeastern Oklahoma State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in the Southwest Region list. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public institution located in Durant, Oklahoma.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University has the honor of being ranked #8 in Oklahoma for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at Southeastern Oklahoma State University
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.