2026 Best Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois
Environmental Engineering degree programs prepare students for a range of careers in the field. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
College Factual analyzed 5 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best environmental engineering schools.
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Best Schools for Environmental Engineering in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall environmental engineering education in Illinois.
Top Schools in Environmental Engineering
Northwestern University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in environmental engineering. Set in the city of Evanston, Northwestern University is a very large private not-for-profit institution. The six-year graduation rate is 95%. About 10 environmental engineering degrees were awarded at Northwestern University in the most recent year. Students who receive their environmental engineering degree from Northwestern University earn around $78,551 in the first couple years of their career. Northwestern University graduates carry a median of $16,616 in student loans.
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A rank of #2 makes University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign one of the top schools for environmental engineering. Located in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public university. Roughly 85% of students complete a degree within six years here. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign awarded about 26 environmental engineering degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their environmental engineering degree from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign earn around $57,461 in the first couple years of their career. Typical student debt for the program is $20,778.
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More Environmental Engineering Rankings
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published 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 · 5 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.
