2026 Best Value General Operations Research Schools in Illinois

[General Operations Research](/majors/engineering/operations-research/general-operations-research/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
College Factual analyzed 3 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value general operations research schools.
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2026 Best Value General Operations Research Schools in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in general operations research, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value General Operations Research Schools
University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign tops our 2026 list of the best value general operations research schools in Illinois. Located in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public university. Students from in state pay about $18,267 in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay about $40,096. General Operations Research graduates carry a median of $20,778 in student loans. General Operations Research graduates of University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign earn a median of $57,461 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 42% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 3 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 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.