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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Food Science in the Great Lakes Region

6 Ranked Colleges
237 Degrees Awarded
$16,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 1,815 people earned their degree in food science, making the major the 283rd most popular in the United States.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 452 food science graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 237 food science graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 6 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in food science. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent food science programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the food science program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Food Science Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region.

Top 6 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Food Science in the Great Lakes Region

#1

University of Wisconsin - River Falls

River Falls, Wisconsin
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - River Falls landed the #1 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in River Falls, Wisconsin, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s food sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UW - River Falls, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Food Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - River Falls is $13,748 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree food sciences students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Food Science at UW - River Falls

#2

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, this large public school awarded 28 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s food sciences students in 2019-2020.

Purdue did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Food Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Purdue University - Main Campus is $13,986 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Food Sciences students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Food Science at Purdue University - Main Campus

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 99 bachelors’s food sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Food Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $15,880 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree food sciences students per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Food Science Report

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school awarded 35 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s food sciences students in 2019-2020.

Ohio State also made our “Best Food Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State is $17,616 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Food Sciences students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Food Science at Ohio State University - Main Campus

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. University of Wisconsin - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin. It awarded 29 bachelors’s food sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison also made our “Best Food Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend UW - Madison is $17,708 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Food Sciences students.

The low student loan default rate of 0.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Read more about Food Science at University of Wisconsin - Madison

#6

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan
#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Food Sciences Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan State is a public institution located in East Lansing, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Michigan State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Food Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Michigan State University is $19,173 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree food sciences students.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Food Science at Michigan State

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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