Radford University Rankings & Recognition

Radford University appears in 12 of CollegesRef's value rankings by major. Its best placement is #152 of 521 for education, and #3 of 5 ranked colleges in Virginia.

Radford University rankings by major

Source: CollegesRef value rankings from U.S. College Scorecard data, 2025

Each ranking compares bachelor's programs in one field. A college's value score is the weighted average of four percentiles among the ranked colleges: graduate earnings, average net price, debt compared with earnings, and graduation rate. Percentiles here are 100 for the best figure in the field. How the rankings work

Education

Ranked #152 of 521 for value

Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · 31 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $53,863; Ranked-college median: $48,822
Median debt: $26,000; Ranked-college median: $21,500

Value score 60.8 of 100 · #3 of 5 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 77th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 73th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 39th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 27th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $17,201) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 48% of earnings

Ranked just above: University of Idaho (#151)
Ranked just below: Boricua College (#153)

Best colleges for education

Criminal justice

Ranked #164 of 379 for value

Criminal Justice and Corrections · 80 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $56,996; Ranked-college median: $55,481
Median debt: $22,250; Ranked-college median: $21,500

Value score 54.3 of 100 · #5 of 10 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 59th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 66th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 44th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 38th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $16,222) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 39% of earnings

Ranked just above: The University of Texas at San Antonio (#163)
Ranked just below: Youngstown State University (#165)

Best colleges for criminal justice

Communications

Ranked #170 of 388 for value

Communication and Media Studies · 27 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $59,932; Ranked-college median: $56,130
Median debt: $25,000; Ranked-college median: $19,593

Value score 53.2 of 100 · #4 of 11 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 67th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 74th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 27th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 18th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $17,285) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 42% of earnings

Ranked just above: University of Northern Iowa (#169)
Ranked just below: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (#171)

Best colleges for communications

Accounting

Ranked #208 of 408 for value

Accounting and Related Services · 20 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $78,780; Ranked-college median: $76,108
Median debt: $25,000; Ranked-college median: $20,500

Value score 48.9 of 100 · #6 of 9 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 57th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 74th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 24th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 20th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $17,285) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 32% of earnings

Ranked just above: North Central College-Illinois (#207)
Ranked just below: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (#209)

Best colleges for accounting

Political science

Ranked #211 of 388 for value

Political Science and Government · 20 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $64,901; Ranked-college median: $63,181
Median debt: $26,000; Ranked-college median: $19,500

Value score 46.3 of 100 · #10 of 16 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 59th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 77th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 13th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 6th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $18,238) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 40% of earnings

Ranked just above: Texas A & M International University (#210)
Ranked just below: University of Arkansas (#212)

Best colleges for political science

Finance

Ranked #231 of 330 for value

Finance and Financial Management Services · 38 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $72,364; Ranked-college median: $77,916
Median debt: $20,750; Ranked-college median: $19,500

Value score 39.1 of 100 · #4 of 5 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 33th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 75th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 25th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 15th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $17,502) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 29% of earnings

Ranked just above: Davenport University (#230)
Ranked just below: Grand Valley State University (#232)

Best colleges for finance

Marketing

Ranked #246 of 354 for value

Marketing · 44 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $62,981; Ranked-college median: $67,486
Median debt: $21,265; Ranked-college median: $19,523

Value score 39.5 of 100 · #5 of 7 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 30th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 77th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 29th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 17th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $17,699) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 34% of earnings

Ranked just above: University of Idaho (#245)
Ranked just below: East Tennessee State University (#247)

Best colleges for marketing

Computer science

Ranked #314 of 466 for value

Computer Science · 23 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $87,740; Ranked-college median: $97,375
Median debt: $20,250; Ranked-college median: $19,500

Value score 39.2 of 100 · #12 of 14 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 30th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 71th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 33th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 19th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $16,804) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 23% of earnings

Ranked just above: California State University-San Bernardino (#313)
Ranked just below: The University of West Florida (#315)

Best colleges for computer science

Business

Ranked #376 of 986 for value

Business Administration, Management and Operations · 87 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $67,246; Ranked-college median: $64,860
Median debt: $22,625; Ranked-college median: $21,375

Value score 56.2 of 100 · #13 of 28 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 59th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 75th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 44th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 33th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $19,132) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 34% of earnings

Ranked just above: University of Northwestern-St Paul (#375)
Ranked just below: Saginaw Valley State University (#377)

Best colleges for business

Nursing

Ranked #411 of 686 for value

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · 259 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $81,120; Ranked-college median: $85,171
Median debt: $20,500; Ranked-college median: $20,938

Value score 44.6 of 100 · #9 of 14 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 32th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 73th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 46th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 30th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $18,014) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 25% of earnings

Ranked just above: Youngstown State University (#410)
Ranked just below: Curry College (#412)

Best colleges for nursing

Psychology

Ranked #483 of 814 for value

Psychology, General · 101 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $48,935; Ranked-college median: $51,007
Median debt: $22,567; Ranked-college median: $21,000

Value score 44.7 of 100 · #14 of 24 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 38th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 77th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 33th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 25th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $18,874) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 46% of earnings

Ranked just above: Indiana University-Southeast (#482)
Ranked just below: Sam Houston State University (#484)

Best colleges for psychology

Biology

Ranked #498 of 680 for value

Biology, General · 58 graduates

Earnings 4 yrs after: $51,266; Ranked-college median: $58,001
Median debt: $20,500; Ranked-college median: $20,717

Value score 37.6 of 100 · #16 of 20 in Virginia

Graduate earnings · 40% of score: 23th percentile
Average net price (lower is better) · 25% of score: 76th percentile
Debt compared with earnings (lower is better) · 20% of score: 33th percentile
Graduation rate · 15% of score: 20th percentile

Average net price $13,701 (median $18,049) · graduation rate 48% · debt is 40% of earnings