2026 Best Value International & Comparative Education Schools in the Southeast Region

[International & Comparative Education](/majors/education/international-education/international-and-comparative-education/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong international & comparative education education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 6 schools to find the best return on investment for international & comparative education students.
What’s on this page:
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/education/international-education/international-and-comparative-education/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/education/international-education/international-and-comparative-education/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/education/international-education/international-and-comparative-education/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/education/international-education/international-and-comparative-education/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/education/international-education/international-and-comparative-education/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/education/international-education/international-and-comparative-education/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/education/international-education/international-and-comparative-education/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: No offers_data.offers found, showing generic ESYOH widget
2026 Best Value International & Comparative Education Schools in the Southeast Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in international & comparative education, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value International & Comparative Education Schools
Duke University tops our 2026 list of the best value international & comparative education schools in the Southeast Region. Set in the city of Durham, Duke University is a large private not-for-profit institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $68,758. International & Comparative Education graduates carry a median of $8,000 in student loans. International & Comparative Education graduates of Duke University earn a median of $40,723 early in their careers. Set against $8,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 6%.
Narrow International & Comparative Education Schools by State
Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 6 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
ADBLOCK #116