For prospective college students looking for schools that align with their Christian faith and demonstrate academic excellence, here are the best Christian colleges and universities in Virginia.
Liberty University, a private Christian school in Lynchburg, is the largest school in Virginia, serving over 60,000 students. The largest public university, Virginia Tech, has a student population of about half that but offers many in-person degree programs as well as eight master’s programs and 19 certificate programs online. Students who attend Virginia Tech can pursue fields like engineering, criminal justice, education, and business.
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The majority of Virginia’s universities and colleges could be considered small schools, serving populations of less than 5,000 students. Included on this list are public schools, like Christopher Newport University in Newport News, and private schools, like Hampton University, a historically black university in Hampton. Though most of its higher education institutes charge tuition fees above the national average, Virginia offers several loan forgiveness programs for qualifying attorneys and medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmaceutical professionals.
Virginia is perhaps most famous for its rich history - but the state is also home to many unique museums and famous landmarks. For example, those who love the classics can visit the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond. Those who harbor romantic dreams of espionage and intrigue might visit the CIA Museum in McLean. And, if you like your attractions random, you could check out Virginia’s 300-yard-long natural tunnel or its 29-ton spinning granite ball. While you’re here, you might consider attending one of the 78 colleges located in the state.
Learn more about Virginia’s higher education opportunities by checking out the state’s many colleges and universities.
The following list of the best Christian schools consists entirely of colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 17 Christian colleges in Virginia. In order to be included in this ranking list of best Christian colleges and universities, a school must self-identify as Christian, be fully accredited, and offer a broad range of bachelor degree programs.
Did you know that it wasn’t the Anglicans who were the first European colonizers of the modern-day Commonwealth of Virginia? Instead, it was the Catholics, particularly Spanish Jesuits under the leadership of Father Juan Baptista de Seguera, who established the Ajacan settlement in 1570. But it was the Church of England that became the established church of the colony when it was brought by settlers as early as 1607.
Today, the best Christian colleges in Virginia can thank the early settlers for introducing the Christian faith to the Old Dominion. The Commonwealth of Virginia is also the birthplace, so to speak, of the First Amendment. In 1786, Virginia passed the Thomas Jefferson-drafted Statute for Religious Freedom that established the clear separation between Church and State.
Such a rich history of the Christian faith has resulted in Christian colleges being crucial in Virginian society and economy!
Christian colleges are educational institutions that combine teaching and learning, research and development, and community engagement, among other aspects of higher education, with the Christian faith.
Many Christian colleges are owned and operated by. or affiliated with, a specific Christian denomination, such as Baptist, Anglican, or Roman Catholic. Unlike the standard liberal arts college, many Christian colleges, however, are non-denominational, meaning these institutions aren’t aligned with a specific organized religion and its leadership.
The best Christian colleges in Virginia usually have regional accreditation from one of the six regional accreditation agencies that are all US Department of Education-recognized. These include the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), and Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
Most, if not all, of these exceptional Christian colleges offer a wide range of academic disciplines, from the liberal arts to health sciences, social sciences, and STEM fields like computer science. Many of these Christian schools also offer programs that prepare students for the Christian ministry.
There’s a misconception that Christian colleges only accept Christians as students to their undergraduate and graduate degree programs. This is hardly a fact as most Christian colleges in Virginia welcome students regardless of their religious affiliation and beliefs—or the lack of it.
But students must also be prepared for different levels of religious instruction incorporated into the curricula—some Christian colleges may have more Christian-centered courses while others may have less. Students may not even be strong-armed into attending religious services and other related activities!
Attending outstanding Christian colleges in Virginia provides numerous benefits, including:
Your purpose in life can become clearer when you’re in meaningful interactions with professors and peers, thanks to the tight-knit community that Christian colleges usually build.
Even better, accredited Christian colleges in Virginia offer a wide range of financial aid options that defray the costs of a private education. Look into the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant, the FAFSA, and institutional scholarships.
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
41%
Graduation
62%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/25
Regent University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
62%
Student body
79K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/25
Liberty University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
42%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
850/15
Virginia Union University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
70%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/24
Roanoke College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
62%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/24
Marymount University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
72%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1124/24
Randolph–Macon College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
64%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/22
Shenandoah University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
55%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1105/26
Eastern Mennonite University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
51%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1055/21
Emory and Henry College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
62%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/22
Bridgewater College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
47%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/24
Virginia Wesleyan University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
34%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
985/17
Ferrum College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$31K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
48%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/21
Mary Baldwin University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
66%
Student body
2K
University of Lynchburg’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
11%
Student body
<1K
Virginia University of Lynchburg’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
48%
Graduation
42%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
985/18
Averett University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$29K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
35%
Student body
1K
Bluefield University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.