Master's · Lynchburg, Virginia

Is Public Administration at Liberty University worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 7.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $73,999; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $74,380; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $27,868; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $30k (likely $30k – $30k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $7k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in VA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.3 years (likely 4.1–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$129k (likely −$187k – −$74k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$95k (likely −$192k – $6k); Today's dollars

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