by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to choose from today when trying to decide which school to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Best Iowa Schools For The Money For Those Getting Aid for a Master's ranking - to help you make that decision. 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:
After analyzing 19 schools in Iowa, we came up with our list of those that offered the best value Master's Degree programs. Our ranking for the best value schools is based on objective factors. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa 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.
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 Iowa State University to be the best value (with aid) school for master’s degrees in Iowa in this year’s ranking. Iowa State is a public institution located in Ames, Iowa.
Not only is Iowa State University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Iowa for overall quality.
A rank of #2 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list means University of Iowa is a great place for students working on their degree. University of Iowa is a large public school located in Iowa City, Iowa.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Iowa is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Iowa.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. UNI is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Northern Iowa is ranked #4 for quality in the state of Iowa.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Maharishi International University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. MIU is located in Fairfield, Iowa and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Maharishi International University has the honor of being ranked #5 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at Maharishi International University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Graceland University - Lamoni. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. Graceland University - Lamoni is a small private not-for-profit school located in Lamoni, Iowa.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Graceland University - Lamoni is ranked #9 for quality in the state of Iowa.
Buena Vista University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa ranking, coming in at #6. BVU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Storm Lake, Iowa.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Buena Vista University is ranked #13 for quality in the state of Iowa.
Loras College landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa ranking. Loras is located in Dubuque, Iowa and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Loras College has the honor of being ranked #12 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #8, Morningside College did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. Morningside College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Sioux City, Iowa.
Morningside College has the honor of being ranked #6 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value.
With a ranking of #9, Upper Iowa University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. Upper Iowa University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Fayette, Iowa.
Upper Iowa University has the honor of being ranked #11 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Northwestern College landed the #10 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa ranking. Northwestern College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Orange City, Iowa.
Northwestern College has the honor of being ranked #7 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Briar Cliff University landed the #11 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa ranking. Briar Cliff is located in Sioux City, Iowa 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, Briar Cliff University is ranked #15 for quality in the state of Iowa.
Saint Ambrose University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa ranking. St. Ambrose University is located in Davenport, Iowa 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, Saint Ambrose University is ranked #8 for quality in the state of Iowa.
Waldorf University landed the #13 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa ranking. Waldorf is located in Forest City, Iowa and has a small student population. It is a private for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Waldorf University is ranked #16 for quality in the state of Iowa.
With a ranking of #14, Grand View University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. Grand View University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Des Moines, Iowa.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Grand View University is ranked #19 for quality in the state of Iowa.
With a ranking of #15, William Penn University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. Located in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is William Penn University a great value, but it is also ranked #18 in Iowa for overall quality.
Drake University landed the #16 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa ranking. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Drake University is ranked #3 for quality in the state of Iowa.
Dordt University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. Dordt is a private not-for-profit institution located in Sioux Center, Iowa.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Dordt University is ranked #10 for quality in the state of Iowa.
Mount Mercy University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. Mount Mercy is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 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, Mount Mercy University is ranked #14 for quality in the state of Iowa.
University of Dubuque ranked #19 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Iowa list. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
University of Dubuque has the honor of being ranked #17 in Iowa for overall quality on top of being a good value.
View Best Value Master’s Degree Schools (With Aid) Nationwide >
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.