by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to choose from today when trying to decide which grad school to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Master's Degree Colleges in Washington ranking is part of that endeavor.
What's on This Page: * Our Methodology
After analyzing 19 grad schools in Washington, we came up with our list of those that offered the best master's degree programs. Our ranking for the best grad 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. The following gives more info on what goes into our ranking factors and why we consider those factors.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving a master's degree from the school. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Graduate students may also take on a lot of debt while working on their master's so we factor that into our rankings as well. The average debt load at a particular school may not be bad, but it's an important thing to consider in conjunction with post-graduation earnings.
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 Master's 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
Thinking about continuing your education further? Check out our Best Doctorate Degree Schools ranking.
Learn more about these excellent grad schools below:
Our analysis found University of Washington - Seattle Campus to be the best grad school for master’s degrees in Washington in this year’s ranking. This large public school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 4,293 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from UW Seattle is $73,405 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 19 master’s degree schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Seattle University landed the #2 spot on the list. Seattle, Washington is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 589 students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Seattle U make an average of $60,764 per year during the early years of their career.
Out of the 19 master’s degree schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Gonzaga University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Spokane, Washington, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 620 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $66,627 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Puget Sound. The school came in at #4 in Washington on this year’s best master’s degree schools ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Tacoma, Washington, and it awarded 92 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Puget Sound go into careers with an average salary of $62,732 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 19 master’s degree schools in Washington that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Pullman, Washington, the large public school handed out 925 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Wazzu is $65,357 during the early years of their career.
Central Washington University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington list. Located in Ellensburg, Washington, the medium-sized public school awarded 322 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from CWU go into careers with an average salary of $54,429 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, Western Washington University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington list. WWU is located in Bellingham, Washington and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 272 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from WWU make an average of $50,771 a year.
With a ranking of #8, Walla Walla University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington list. College Place, Washington is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 105 students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $41,554 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #9, Seattle Pacific University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington list. Located in Seattle, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 256 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from SPU go into careers with an average salary of $70,281 during the early years of their career.
Whitworth University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington ranking. Whitworth is a private not-for-profit institution located in Spokane, Washington. The school has a small population, and it awarded 181 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Whitworth is $59,104 during the early years of their career.
Eastern Washington University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington ranking. Located in Cheney, Washington, the fairly large public school handed out 832 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $51,351 during the early years of their career.
Pacific Lutheran University landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington ranking. Located in Tacoma, Washington, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 149 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from PLU make an average of $56,760 per year during the early years of their career.
Northwest University landed the #13 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington ranking. Northwest University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Kirkland, Washington. It awarded 126 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Northwest University is $48,106 during the early years of their career.
City University of Seattle did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington ranking, coming in at #14. Seattle, Washington is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 404 students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from CityU make an average of $61,176 per year during the early years of their career.
Antioch University - Seattle landed the #15 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington ranking. Antioch University - Seattle is a small private not-for-profit school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 145 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Antioch University - Seattle make an average of $43,980 a year.
With a ranking of #16, Saint Martin’s University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington list. Saint Martin’s is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lacey, Washington. It awarded 86 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Saint Martin’s go into careers with an average salary of $55,864 during the early years of their career.
Northwest University - College of Adult and Professional Studies ranked #17 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Kirkland, Washington, and it awarded 51 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Northwest University CAPS go into careers with an average salary of $49,174 during the early years of their career.
Full Northwest University - College of Adult and Professional Studies Report
University of Washington - Tacoma Campus landed the #18 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington ranking. UW Tacoma is located in Tacoma, Washington and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 416 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from UW Tacoma is $80,073 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on University of Washington - Tacoma Campus
University of Washington - Bothell Campus came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in Washington ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Bothell, Washington, and it awarded 211 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $86,612 during the early years of their career.
Read full report on University of Washington - Bothell Campus
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More about our data sources and methodologies.