2026 Best Value Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools in Illinois
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the aerospace & aeronautical engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering Schools
Our analysis ranked University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign the best value for a degree in aerospace & aeronautical engineering in Illinois. Set in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $18,267, with out-of-state students paying around $40,096. Typical student debt for aerospace & aeronautical engineering graduates is $23,951. Soon after graduation, aerospace & aeronautical engineering degree recipients from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign generally make around $87,496. Set against $23,951 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign admits about 42% of applicants.
Students looking for strong value in aerospace & aeronautical engineering will find it at Illinois Institute Of Technology, which ranked #2. Illinois Institute Of Technology is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $52,202. Typical student debt for aerospace & aeronautical engineering graduates is $27,000. Early-career aerospace & aeronautical engineering graduates make about $63,169. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Illinois Institute Of Technology admits about 55% of applicants.
Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
- 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.
[Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering](/majors/engineering/aerospace-and-aeronautical-engineering/aerospace-aeronautical-space-engineering/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
