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 grad degree. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Master's Degree Colleges in the Southwest Region ranking.
What's on This Page: * Our Methodology
After analyzing 91 grad schools in the Southwest Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the best master's degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best grad schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. A master's degree holder from a school in the Southwest Region makes an average starting salary of $56,204, but the students who attended schools in the top 25 of our list make an average of $60,338.
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 Rice University to be the best grad school for master’s degrees in the Southwest Region in this year’s ranking. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 929 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $71,091 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 91 master’s degree schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Austin landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Austin, Texas, the large public school awarded 3,093 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $60,992 during the early years of their career.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Texas A&M University - College Station helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in the Southwest Region. Texas A&M College Station is located in College Station, Texas and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3,603 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Texas A&M College Station is $67,437 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #4 on our Best Master’s Degree in the Southwest Region list means Southern Methodist University is a great place for students working on their degree. Southern Methodist University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Dallas, Texas that handed out 1,731 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $76,382 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 91 master’s degree schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas Christian University landed the #5 spot on the list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Fort Worth, Texas, and it awarded 493 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from TCU make an average of $61,293 a year.
Baylor University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Baylor University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Waco, Texas that handed out 1,108 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Baylor make an average of $50,750 a year.
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is a large public school located in Norman, Oklahoma that handed out 1,851 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from University of Oklahoma make an average of $53,771 a year.
Arizona State University - Tempe ranked #8 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. ASU - Tempe is a large public school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 3,926 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from ASU - Tempe go into careers with an average salary of $55,774 during the early years of their career.
Texas Tech University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. This large public school is located in Lubbock, Texas, and it awarded 1,797 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Texas Tech make an average of $51,345 a year.
University of Arizona ranked #10 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in Tucson, Arizona, the large public school awarded 2,256 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from University of Arizona make an average of $58,363 a year.
University of Phoenix - Arizona did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #11. UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit institution located in Phoenix, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6,550 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from UOPX - Arizona make an average of $51,750 a year.
The University of Texas at Dallas came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Richardson, Texas, the large public school awarded 3,103 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from UT Dallas make an average of $70,804 per year during the early years of their career.
The University of Texas at Arlington ranked #13 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. UT Arlington is a public institution located in Arlington, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4,902 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from UT Arlington is $61,205 during the early years of their career.
University of Houston came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Houston, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 1,791 students in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from UH is $56,200 during the early years of their career.
Grand Canyon University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #15. Grand Canyon University is a large private for-profit school situated in Phoenix, Arizona. It awarded 14,378 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Grand Canyon University make an average of $55,777 per year during the early years of their career.
Lamar University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #16. Located in Beaumont, Texas, the fairly large public school handed out 2,667 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Lamar University go into careers with an average salary of $55,234 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #17, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Oklahoma State University - Main Campus is a large public school located in Stillwater, Oklahoma that handed out 939 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from OSU make an average of $56,581 a year.
With a ranking of #18, Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Arizona State University - Skysong is a large public school located in Scottsdale, Arizona that handed out 4,903 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from ASU - Skysong is $57,488 during the early years of their career.
Trinity University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. San Antonio, Texas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 97 students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Trinity U make an average of $62,127 per year during the early years of their career.
Northern Arizona University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Flagstaff, Arizona, the large public school handed out 1,329 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from NAU make an average of $58,123 per year during the early years of their career.
University of Houston - Downtown came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in Houston, Texas, the fairly large public school handed out 543 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from UH Downtown go into careers with an average salary of $60,849 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #22, University of North Texas did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. UNT is a large public school situated in Denton, Texas. It awarded 2,150 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from UNT make an average of $49,722 a year.
University of Tulsa ranked #23 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. University of Tulsa is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It awarded 220 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from University of Tulsa make an average of $81,530 a year.
Texas Woman’s University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #24. TWU is a fairly large public school situated in Denton, Texas. It awarded 1,547 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from TWU is $53,792 during the early years of their career.
University of Dallas ranked #25 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. UD is a private not-for-profit institution located in Irving, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 331 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from UD is $70,068 during the early years of their career.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.