Master's · Richmond, Virginia

Is Public Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 4.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $83,111; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $82,648; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $41,000; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $43k (likely $43k – $43k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $16k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in VA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4.5 years (likely 2.7–14.8); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$60k (likely −$164k – $39k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $64k (likely −$130k – $260k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.