by our College Data Analytics Team
[Women's Studies](/majors/ethnic-cultural-gender-studies/ethnic-studies/womens-studies/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
College Factual analyzed 4 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value women’s studies schools.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in women’s studies, balancing cost against outcomes.
For return on investment in women's studies, no school beat Dartmouth College this year. Set in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth College is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit institution. In-state tuition and fees average $68,019. Typical student debt for women's studies graduates is $15,157. Women's Studies graduates of Dartmouth College earn a median of $31,967 early in their careers. Set against $15,157 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 5%.
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 · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.