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2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

11 Ranked Colleges
307 Degrees Awarded
$15,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Education Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

General Education is the 35th most popular major in the country with 29,936 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,138 and had an average of $29,674 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 423 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $46,475 and $26,209 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 307 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in general education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general education 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 education program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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 Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 11 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

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 Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 169 masters’s education degrees to qualified students.

UIUC also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Education 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 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign General Education Report

#2

Saint Xavier University

Chicago, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Xavier University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s education degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

SXU also took the #9 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SXU are $15,450, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full SXU General Education Report

#3

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s education degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Education at WIU

#4

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 16 masters’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Illinois University are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full NIU General Education Report

#5

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Elmhurst University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit institution located in Elmhurst, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Elmhurst are $32,300, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about General Education at Elmhurst

#6

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois

Concordia University, Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in River Forest, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 5 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Concordia University, Chicago also made our “Best General Education 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 Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378.

Full Concordia University, Chicago General Education Report

#7

McKendree University

Lebanon, Illinois

McKendree University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. This small school is located in Lebanon, Illinois, and it awarded 27 masters’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

McKendree did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best General Education 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 McKendree are $9,324.

Full McKendree University General Education Report

#8

Quincy University

Quincy, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, Quincy University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Quincy University is a small school located in Quincy, Illinois that handed out 20 masters’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Quincy U did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Quincy University are $12,000, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Education at Quincy U

#9

Greenville University

Greenville, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Greenville University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Greenville University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Greenville, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Greenville, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Greenville University are $8,082, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Greenville University General Education Report

#10

North Park University

Chicago, Illinois

North Park University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. North Park is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 1 masters’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

North Park not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at North Park University are $14,076, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Education at North Park University

#11

Rockford University

Rockford, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

Rockford University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Rockford, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s education degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

Rockford also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Education 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 Rockford are $13,255.

Full Rockford General Education Report

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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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

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