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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Biology in Illinois

13 Ranked Colleges
336 Degrees Awarded
$20,000 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Biology Schools for a Master's in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

With 102,043 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, general biology is the 5th most popular major in the United States. In 2017-2018, general biology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $28,233 and had an average of $23,964 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 2,863 general biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,700 and $25,592 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 336 general biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in general biology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general biology programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the general biology program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank General Biology Schools

The biology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree biology students.

Top 13 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Biology in Illinois

#1

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s biology degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State are $11,069.

Read full report on General Biology at Illinois State

#2

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. NIU is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 14 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at NIU are $11,086.

Read full report on General Biology at Northern Illinois University

#10 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a public institution located in Edwardsville, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 19 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are $9,300.

Read more about General Biology at SIUE

#4

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Eastern Illinois University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Charleston, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 23 diplomas to qualified masters’s biology students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at EIU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern Illinois University are $20,761, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Biology at EIU

#5

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. WIU is located in Macomb, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 masters’s biology degrees to qualified students.

WIU also took the #11 spot in our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996.

Read more about General Biology at WIU

#6

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 56 degrees to qualified masters’s biology students in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago also made our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola University Chicago are $19,154.

Full Loyola Chicago General Biology Report

#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Northeastern Illinois University is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 7 masters’s biology degrees in 2019-2020.

Northeastern Illinois University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northeastern Illinois University are $17,032.

Full Northeastern Illinois University General Biology Report

#5 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 2 masters’s biology degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also made our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Biology at UIC

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

DePaul University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 12 masters’s biology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree biology students list, DePaul has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full DePaul University General Biology Report

#10

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois
#13 in overall quality

Chicago State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. CSU is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CSU also made our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #13. Average graduate tuition and fees at Chicago State University are $15,056, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Biology at Chicago State University

#11

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

Roosevelt University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #11. Roosevelt is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 69 masters’s biology degrees to qualified students.

Roosevelt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Roosevelt University are $21,605, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Biology at Roosevelt

Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 16 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on General Biology at Illinois Tech

#13

Midwestern University - Downers Grove

Downers Grove, Illinois

Midwestern University - Downers Grove came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Biology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. Midwestern University - Downers Grove is located in Downers Grove, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 86 masters’s biology degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree biology students list, Midwestern University - Downers Grove has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Midwestern University - Downers Grove are $45,511, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on General Biology at Midwestern University - Downers Grove

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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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