2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Education in Illinois
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2019-2020, 29,936 people earned their degree in general education, making the major the 35th most popular in the United States. 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.
This year’s “Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general education 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 general education program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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 Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois.
Top 10 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Education in Illinois
Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 169 masters’s education degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Concordia University, Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in River Forest, Illinois. It awarded 5 masters’s education degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree education students list, Concordia University, Chicago has also earned the #3 rank 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 Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378.
Read more about General Education at Concordia University, Chicago
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Greenville University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Greenville, 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.
Greenville also made our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Greenville are $8,082.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend McKendree University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Located in Lebanon, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 27 diplomas to qualified masters’s education students in 2019-2020.
McKendree also made our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at McKendree University are $9,324, but some majors have different tuition rates.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Western Illinois University is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 14 masters’s education degrees 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 you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Read more about General Education at Western Illinois University
Rockford University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Rockford is located in Rockford, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 masters’s education degrees to qualified students.
Rockford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 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 Rockford University are $13,255.
Northern Illinois University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 16 diplomas to qualified masters’s education students 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.
Quincy University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. This small school is located in Quincy, Illinois, and it awarded 20 masters’s education degrees in 2019-2020.
Quincy U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Quincy U are $12,000, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
Saint Xavier University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. 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 did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 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 Saint Xavier University are $15,450.
Read more about General Education at Saint Xavier University
Elmhurst University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. This small school is located in Elmhurst, Illinois, and it awarded 10 masters’s education degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Elmhurst, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Elmhurst are $32,300, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.
- Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Education in the Great Lakes Region
- Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Education
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Best General Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
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Best Value Master's Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois
General Education students with family income $75-$110k in Illinois
Best Value Master's Degree Colleges for General Education in Illinois
General Education students in Illinois
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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