2022 Best Value IS 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. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Information Science is the 56th most popular major in the country with 18,368 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, information science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $58,848 and had an average of $32,600 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 847 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,000 and $31,486 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 523 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in information science. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality information science programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

The is 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 IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 358 masters’s IS degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Information Science Report

#2

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$17,040 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bradley University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Bradley University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 4 masters’s IS degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley also took the #4 spot in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Bradley are $17,040, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Information Science at Bradley

#3

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$89,524 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 82 diplomas to qualified masters’s IS students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760.

Read full report on Information Science at DePaul

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$105,678 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 76 diplomas to qualified masters’s IS students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Information Science at Northwestern University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to The Opte Project.

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