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2024 Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois

11 Ranked Colleges
6,585 Degrees Awarded
$21,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

With 198,468 degrees handed out in 2020-2021, engineering is the 7th most popular major in the United States. In 2019-2020, engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $68,653 and had an average of $23,855 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 6,585 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $68,398 and $22,915 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great 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 engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Engineering Schools

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Engineering in Illinois

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,695 ’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $14,321 for Illinois Engineering students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #2 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a fairly large public school situated in Edwardsville, Illinois. It awarded 299 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $14,462 for illinois engineering students.

Read more about Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

3

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 877 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our illinois engineering students list, UIC has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $13,214 for Illinois Engineering students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at UIC

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois list. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 298 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

NIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northern Illinois University is $13,956 for Illinois Engineering students.

Full NIU Engineering Report

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois list. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 192 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our illinois engineering students list, SIUC has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $16,285 for illinois engineering students.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Engineering at SIUC

6
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois ranking. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 48 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $31,174 for Illinois Engineering students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Engineering at DePaul

7
Bradley crest
Bradley University
Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois ranking, coming in at #7. This medium-sized school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 195 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Bradley also made our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $25,196 for Illinois Engineering students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Engineering at Bradley University

8
Olivet Nazarene crest
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, Illinois

Olivet Nazarene University landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois ranking. Olivet Nazarene University is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 48 ’s engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

Olivet Nazarene also made our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #10. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene University is $19,470 for illinois engineering students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Engineering at Olivet Nazarene University

9

With a ranking of #9, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 606 degrees to qualified ’s engineering students in 2020-2021.

Illinois Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Institute of Technology is $23,772 for illinois engineering students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology Engineering Report

10
Loyola Chicago crest
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois list. Loyola University Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 53 ’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

Loyola Chicago also made our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $36,434 for Illinois Engineering students per year to attend Loyola University Chicago.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Engineering at Loyola Chicago

11
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Engineering Schools in Illinois ranking, coming in at #11. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 813 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $23,279 for Illinois Engineering students per year to attend Northwestern University.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 99%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Engineering at Northwestern

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