Find a Job You Really Want In
One of the biggest things that incoming college freshmen consider when they’re thinking about what school to attend is the likelihood that a school will improve their job prospects.
Jobs are hard to come by nowadays, after all, and the everyday expenses of living in a country like America aren’t cheap.
Compared to a lot of other states, Virginia has some unique advantages as far as attending college here goes. There are impressive research universities, quality state schools, and the ability to study majors that will prepare you well for the job market.
All that made us curious — with so many good colleges to attend in VA, which ones, in particular, were most likely to help their graduates land a job? Using data from IPEDS as well as College Scorecard as a baseline, we created this list of some of the best colleges for jobs in Virginia.
The full list can be found further down, but first, here’s a look at the top ten best colleges for jobs in Virginia:
- James Madison University
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- University of Richmond
- Radford University
- Bridgewater College
- University of Mary Washington
- Hampton University
- Ferrum College
- Christopher Newport University
- Virginia State University
If you go to one of these schools, chances are, you’re not surprised. After all, you know how great you have it.
But for the rest of you — keep reading and we’ll get to just why these schools have some of the best programs the state of Virginia has to offer.
How We Determined The Best Schools In Virginia For Jobs
Using the College Scorecard Data, we searched for the college in each state with the highest listed job placement ratings, looking specifically at employment levels at year 10 after students have graduated.
We limited the analysis to the 37 public and non-profit, four year institutions colleges in Virginia that offer at least a bachelors degree.
Then, we ranked each college from best to worst on the percentage of graduates with jobs. For the purposes of readability, each school’s rating was then rounded down to the last two decimal places.
The school with the highest percentage of grads with jobs, James Madison University, earned the distinction of being the ‘Best College For Jobs in Virginia.’
Best Colleges For Getting A Job In Virginia
| Rank | College | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Madison University | 94.35% |
| 2 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 93.83% |
| 3 | University of Richmond | 93.11% |
| 4 | Radford University | 93.02% |
| 5 | Bridgewater College | 92.6% |
| 6 | University of Mary Washington | 92.43% |
| 7 | Hampton University | 92.4% |
| 8 | Ferrum College | 92.24% |
| 9 | Christopher Newport University | 92.21% |
| 10 | Virginia State University | 92.14% |
| 11 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 92.14% |
| 12 | Emory amp; Henry College | 91.96% |
| 13 | College of William and Mary | 91.87% |
| 14 | Roanoke College | 91.82% |
| 15 | Randolph-Macon College | 91.5% |
| 16 | Norfolk State University | 91.16% |
| 17 | Eastern Mennonite University | 91.04% |
| 18 | Virginia Wesleyan University | 90.88% |
| 19 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 90.88% |
| 20 | Averett University | 90.81% |
| 21 | Averett University-Non-Traditional Programs | 90.81% |
| 22 | Jefferson College of Health Sciences | 90.8% |
| 23 | Longwood University | 90.79% |
| 24 | Shenandoah University | 90.71% |
| 25 | University of Lynchburg | 90.54% |
| 26 | Old Dominion University | 90.05% |
| 27 | Bluefield College | 89.98% |
| 28 | Marymount University | 89.41% |
| 29 | George Mason University | 89.33% |
| 30 | Virginia Union University | 88.68% |
| 31 | Mary Baldwin University | 88.34% |
| 32 | The University of Virginia’s College at Wise | 88.3% |
| 33 | Randolph College | 87.21% |
| 34 | Hollins University | 84.93% |
| 35 | Regent University | 83.54% |
| 36 | Liberty University | 82.27% |
| 37 | Southern Virginia University | 80.87% |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
