2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Mechanical Engineering is the 20th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,495 and had an average of $23,104 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,232 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,288 and $21,821 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 90 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,900 and $148,219 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in mechanical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great mechanical engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois doctor’s degree me students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 doctorate’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 51 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. 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.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Mechanical Engineering Report

#3

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 15 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UIC

#4

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$30,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Doctorate in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 3 doctorate’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Doctor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Tech are $30,695, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k)

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 Michel Villeneuve.

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