by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which grad 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 Top West Virginia Colleges for a Doctorate ranking - to help you make that decision.
Jump to Any of the Following Sections: * Our Methodology
Our analysis looked at 4 grad schools in West Virginia to determine which ones have the best doctorate degree programs. To come up with this ranking of the best grad schools, we look at factors that are all objective measurements. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a graduateschool is to look at the average salary of doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. While doctorate degree recipients from schools in West Virginia earn an average starting salary of $88,380, those from the top 3 school on this list made an average of $97,995.
Another factor that we look at to determine a school's ranking is the average debt load that graduate students take on while they are working on their doctorate degree. We consider this number in conjunction with average post-graduation earnings to gauge the difficulty doctorate recipients will have paying back their loans.
In addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt loads, we also look at a host of other factors to determining our Best Doctorate Degree Schools ranking. Several other factors - such as how much the school spends on educational resources, the demand of the school, the availability of online learning options, and the student body caliber - go into our rankings.
Find out more about our graduate school ranking methodology
Still not sure what graduate degree you wish to pursue? You may want to visit our Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
Learn more about these excellent grad schools below:
Our analysis found West Virginia University to be the best grad school for doctorate degrees in West Virginia in this year’s ranking. WVU is located in Morgantown, West Virginia and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 603 doctorate degrees to qualified graduate students.
Graduates with a doctorate degree from WVU make an average of $78,013 per year during the early years of their career.
A rank of #2 on our Best Doctorate Degrees in West Virginia list means University of Charleston is a great place for students working on their degree. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Charleston, West Virginia, and it awarded 64 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a doctorate degree from UC go into careers with an average salary of $112,123 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Marshall University. It ranked #3 on our 2024 Best Doctorate Degree Schools in West Virginia list. Marshall University is a fairly large public school situated in Huntington, West Virginia. It awarded 229 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, doctorate degree graduates from Marshall University make an average of $103,848 a year.
The excellent doctorate degree programs at Wheeling University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in West Virginia. Wheeling University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Wheeling, West Virginia. It awarded 51 doctorate degrees in 2020-2021.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.