Best Schools for Best in Illinois
If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the best degrees they offer, see the list below.
Top Schools in Best
Leading the list is Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, our #1 school for best. Set in the suburb of Edwardsville, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a large public institution. About 55% of students finish within six years. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville awarded about 38 best degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, best degree recipients from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville generally make around $54,302. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville graduates carry a median of $23,917 in student loans.
See the full best program report for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
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 · 2 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.
