2026 Best Labor & Industrial Relations Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Labor & Industrial Relations degree programs prepare students for a range of careers in the field. A focused field like this rewards careful comparison of the schools that offer it.
College Factual analyzed 6 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best labor & industrial relations schools.
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Best Schools for Labor & Industrial Relations in the Great Lakes Region
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall labor & industrial relations education in the Great Lakes Region.
Top Schools in Labor & Industrial Relations
No school ranked higher than University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign this year for labor & industrial relations. Set in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public institution. The six-year graduation rate is 85%. There were roughly 132 labor & industrial relations students who graduated with this degree at University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign in the most recent data year. Graduates of the labor & industrial relations program make about $89,637 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $20,778 to complete this degree.
Read more about the labor & industrial relations program at University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign
Students looking for a strong labor & industrial relations program will find one at Michigan State University, which ranked #2. Michigan State University is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing. Michigan State University graduates 81% of students within six years. There were roughly 60 labor & industrial relations students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State University in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, labor & industrial relations degree recipients from Michigan State University generally make around $78,014. Students borrow a median of $23,475 to complete this degree.
See the full labor & industrial relations program report for Michigan State University
Students looking for a strong labor & industrial relations program will find one at Wayne State University, which ranked #3. Set in the city of Detroit, Wayne State University is a very large public institution. Wayne State University graduates 58% of students within six years. Wayne State University awarded about 12 labor & industrial relations degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the labor & industrial relations program make about $48,324 in their early career. Students borrow a median of $24,213 to complete this degree.
Get the full labor & industrial relations details for Wayne State University
Students looking for a strong labor & industrial relations program will find one at Cleveland State University, which ranked #4. Located in the city of Cleveland, Cleveland State University is a large public university. The six-year graduation rate is 51%. There were roughly 48 labor & industrial relations students who graduated with this degree at Cleveland State University in the most recent data year. Students who receive their labor & industrial relations degree from Cleveland State University earn around $54,679 in the first couple years of their career. Typical student debt for the program is $27,000.
See the full labor & industrial relations program report for Cleveland State University
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 6 schools evaluated.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
