by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which school to attend when you have so many options available. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Best Schools For The Money For Those Getting Aid for a Master's ranking - to help you make that decision. The amount of financial aid you could receive at various schools, including some with high sticker prices, may surprise you.
See What's Included in This Value Report:
We analyzed 1,114 schools across the United States to determine which have the best value Master's Degree programs. To come up with this ranking of the best value schools, we look at factors that are all objective measurements. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking, we first consider its average net price, which is the sum of room and board, tuition, and fees minus any financial aid that that the student receives. But, a school that excels in providing value for your money must also be a great school overall as well.
To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Find out more about our best value ranking methodology.
Keep scrolling for the top schools in this ranking or select one of the other rankings methods below.
If you know what major you want to study, check out our list of the best value schools by major. If you're interested in other degree levels, you can view one of the lists below.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named Stanford University the best value (with aid) school in the United States for students working on their master’s degree. Stanford University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Stanford, California.
Not only is Stanford University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in California for overall quality.
Out of the 1,114 master’s degree schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #2 spot on the list. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Columbia University in the City of New York is ranked #1 for quality in the state of New York.
Learn More About Value at Columbia University in the City of New York
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Washington - Seattle Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list. UW Seattle is located in Seattle, Washington and has a large student population. It is a public school.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus has the honor of being ranked #1 in Washington for overall quality on top of being a good value.
A rank of #4 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list means Hunter College is a great place for students working on their degree. This large public school is located in New York, New York.
Hunter College has the honor of being ranked #8 in New York for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Out of the 1,114 master’s degree schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the #5 spot on the list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Not only is Harvard University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Massachusetts for overall quality.
With a ranking of #6, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
University of Pennsylvania has the honor of being ranked #1 in Pennsylvania for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #7, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and has a large student population. It is a public school.
University of California - Los Angeles has the honor of being ranked #5 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on University of California - Los Angeles
University of Maryland - Baltimore County ranked #8 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list. UMBC is a public institution located in Baltimore, Maryland.
University of Maryland - Baltimore County has the honor of being ranked #3 in Maryland for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Baruch College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking. Baruch is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York.
Not only is Baruch College a great value, but it is also ranked #20 in New York for overall quality.
University of Florida did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking, coming in at #10. Located in Gainesville, Florida, the school is a large public institution.
Not only is University of Florida a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Florida for overall quality.
California State University - Los Angeles ranked #11 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
California State University - Los Angeles has the honor of being ranked #56 in California for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at California State University - Los Angeles
Brooklyn College landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking. This fairly large public school is located in Brooklyn, New York.
Not only is Brooklyn College a great value, but it is also ranked #22 in New York for overall quality.
Michigan State University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Michigan State University is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Michigan.
Lehman College did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking, coming in at #14. Lehman College is a fairly large public school located in Bronx, New York.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Lehman College is ranked #32 for quality in the state of New York.
The City College of New York ranked #15 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list. CCNY is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York.
The City College of New York has the honor of being ranked #26 in New York for overall quality on top of being a good value.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking, coming in at #16. John Jay is a fairly large public school situated in New York, New York.
Not only is John Jay College of Criminal Justice a great value, but it is also ranked #18 in New York for overall quality.
Read full value report on John Jay College of Criminal Justice
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking, coming in at #17. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a large public school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Not only is University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in North Carolina for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Queens College ranked #18 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list. QC is a public institution located in Queens, New York.
Not only is Queens College a great value, but it is also ranked #23 in New York for overall quality.
San Diego State University landed the #19 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking. Located in San Diego, California, the school is a large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, San Diego State University is ranked #32 for quality in the state of California.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking, coming in at #20. Located in Champaign, Illinois, the school is a large public institution.
Not only is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Illinois for overall quality.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Value Report
With a ranking of #21, did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) list.
University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Wisconsin - Madison is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Wisconsin.
California State University - San Bernardino did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking, coming in at #23. This fairly large public school is located in San Bernardino, California.
Not only is California State University - San Bernardino a great value, but it is also ranked #62 in California for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at California State University - San Bernardino
National University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking. La Jolla, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is National University a great value, but it is also ranked #17 in California for overall quality.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking. Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus is a large public school located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus has the honor of being ranked #1 in Georgia for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Full Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Value Report
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | Value Report |
| 52 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | Value Report |
| 53 | University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, IL | Value Report |
| 54 | The University of Texas at Dallas | Richardson, TX | Value Report |
| 55 | American Public University System | Charles Town, WV | Value Report |
| 56 | Louisiana State University - Shreveport | Shreveport, LA | Value Report |
| 56 | California State University - Monterey Bay | Seaside, CA | Value Report |
| 58 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | Rolla, MO | Value Report |
| 59 | Brigham Young University - Provo | Provo, UT | Value Report |
| 59 | Florida State University | Tallahassee, FL | Value Report |
| 61 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | Value Report |
| 62 | Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN | Value Report |
| 63 | Washington State University | Pullman, WA | Value Report |
| 64 | California State University - Bakersfield | Bakersfield, CA | Value Report |
| 65 | Indiana University - Kokomo | Kokomo, IN | Value Report |
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 166 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX | Value Report |
| 166 | University of California - Merced | Merced, CA | Value Report |
| 166 | Western Illinois University | Macomb, IL | Value Report |
All Majors and Fields of Study >
These schools also performed well in our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) ranking:
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 169 | University of West Alabama | Livingston, AL | Value Report |
| 170 | Mississippi State University | Mississippi State, MS | Value Report |
| 170 | Utah Valley University | Orem, UT | Value Report |
| 172 | University of Southern Indiana | Evansville, IN | Value Report |
| 173 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE | Value Report |
| 173 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | Value Report |
| 175 | Bridgewater State University | Bridgewater, MA | Value Report |
| 175 | Wilmington University | New Castle, DE | Value Report |
| 177 | University of Wisconsin - Platteville | Platteville, WI | Value Report |
| 178 | University of Houston - Downtown | Houston, TX | Value Report |
| 179 | University of New Mexico - Main Campus | Albuquerque, NM | Value Report |
| 180 | Ramapo College of New Jersey | Mahwah, NJ | Value Report |
| 181 | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | Value Report |
| 182 | The University of Texas at El Paso | El Paso, TX | Value Report |
| 183 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH | Value Report |
| Rank | College | Location | Value |
|---|
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.