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 has developed its Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking as one thing you can use to help make this decision. This list is proof that you shouldn't avoid normally high-priced schools, since the actual price may be very affordable if you qualify for financial aid.
In This Year's Value Report:
We analyzed 34 schools across North Carolina to determine which 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. 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) in North Carolina 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. 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.
Find out more about our best value ranking methodology.
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 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the best value (with aid) school in North Carolina for students working on their master’s degree. Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the school is a large public institution.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has the honor of being ranked #2 in North Carolina for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A rank of #2 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina list means North Carolina State University is a great place for students working on their degree. This large public school is located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Not only is North Carolina State University a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in North Carolina for overall quality.
The quality degree programs at Fayetteville State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina. Located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the school is a medium-sized public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Fayetteville State University is ranked #24 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
A rank of #4 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina list means University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a great place for students working on their degree. UNC Greensboro is a public institution located in Greensboro, North Carolina.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of North Carolina at Greensboro is ranked #16 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
Read full value report on University of North Carolina at Greensboro
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Appalachian State University. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina list. Boone, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Appalachian State University a great value, but it is also ranked #8 in North Carolina for overall quality.
With a ranking of #6, North Carolina A & T State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina list. NC A&T is located in Greensboro, North Carolina and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
North Carolina A & T State University has the honor of being ranked #21 in North Carolina for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on North Carolina A & T State University
Elizabeth City State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. ECSU is a small public school situated in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Not only is Elizabeth City State University a great value, but it is also ranked #33 in North Carolina for overall quality.
Duke University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking, coming in at #8. Duke University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Durham, North Carolina.
Not only is Duke University a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in North Carolina for overall quality.
East Carolina University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking, coming in at #9. This large public school is located in Greenville, North Carolina.
Not only is East Carolina University a great value, but it is also ranked #6 in North Carolina for overall quality.
Western Carolina University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. Western Carolina University is a fairly large public school located in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Western Carolina University is ranked #13 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
Salem College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. Salem is a private not-for-profit institution located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Salem College is ranked #22 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. UNC Charlotte is located in Charlotte, North Carolina 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 North Carolina at Charlotte is ranked #7 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
Learn More About Value at University of North Carolina at Charlotte
With a ranking of #13, University of North Carolina at Pembroke did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina list. UNC Pembroke is a public institution located in Pembroke, North Carolina.
Not only is University of North Carolina at Pembroke a great value, but it is also ranked #25 in North Carolina for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Winston - Salem State University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Winston - Salem State University has the honor of being ranked #19 in North Carolina for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Wake Forest University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Wake Forest University has the honor of being ranked #4 in North Carolina for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Johnson C Smith University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking, coming in at #16. Charlotte, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Johnson C Smith University is ranked #27 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
University of North Carolina at Wilmington came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. UNCW is a public institution located in Wilmington, North Carolina.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of North Carolina at Wilmington is ranked #9 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
Full University of North Carolina at Wilmington Value Report
North Carolina Central University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. North Carolina Central University is located in Durham, North Carolina and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, North Carolina Central University is ranked #26 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
Wingate University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. Located in Wingate, North Carolina, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is Wingate University a great value, but it is also ranked #17 in North Carolina for overall quality.
With a ranking of #20, Methodist University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina list. Methodist is located in Fayetteville, North Carolina and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Methodist University has the honor of being ranked #20 in North Carolina for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Gardner - Webb University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
Gardner - Webb University has the honor of being ranked #12 in North Carolina for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Pfeiffer University landed the #22 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking. Misenheimer, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Pfeiffer University a great value, but it is also ranked #18 in North Carolina for overall quality.
Lenoir - Rhyne University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina ranking, coming in at #23. Located in Hickory, North Carolina, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is Lenoir - Rhyne University a great value, but it is also ranked #14 in North Carolina for overall quality.
University of Mount Olive ranked #24 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina list. UMO is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Mount Olive, North Carolina.
Not only is University of Mount Olive a great value, but it is also ranked #30 in North Carolina for overall quality.
With a ranking of #25, Mars Hill University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in North Carolina list. Located in Mars Hill, North Carolina, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Mars Hill University is ranked #29 for quality in the state of North Carolina.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.