2023 Best Value Library Science Schools in the New England Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Library Science Schools in the New England Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 5,950 people earned their degree in library and information science, making the major the 121st most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, library and information science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $43,949 and had an average of $27,472 in loans still to pay off.

Across the New England region, there were 368 library and information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,275 and $22,333 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Library Science Schools in the New England Region” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in library and information science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great library and information science programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the library and information science program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Library & Information Science Schools

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

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Library Science Schools in the New England Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for new england region library science students.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Library & Information Science in the New England Region

1

Simmons University
Boston, Massachusetts

#1 in overall quality

$27,920 Average Net Price

$55,531 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Simmons University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Library Science Schools in the New England Region list. Simmons is a medium-sized school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 273 ’s library science degrees in 2020-2021.

Simmons not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Library & Information Science Schools in the New England Region” list. It costs about $27,920 for New England Region Library Science students per year to attend Simmons University.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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%.

Full Simmons University Library & Information Science Report

2

University of Rhode Island
Kingston, Rhode Island

#2 in overall quality

$18,638 Average Net Price

$44,926 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Library Science Schools in the New England Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Rhode Island landed the #2 spot on the list. URI is a public institution located in Kingston, Rhode Island. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 46 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

URI not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Library & Information Science Schools in the New England Region” list. The yearly cost to attend URI is $18,638 for New England Region Library Science students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full University of Rhode Island Library & Information Science Report

• Best Value Colleges for Library & Information Science

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 Diliff.