2024 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois
7
Ranked Colleges
245
Degrees Awarded
$22,500
Avg Net Price*
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 Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Environmental Studies is the 87th most popular major in the country with 9,899 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across Illinois, there were 245 environmental studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in environmental studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent environmental studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the environmental studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois” list to help you make the college decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois.
Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Environmental Studies in Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois list. UIS is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 14 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UIS also took the #5 spot in our “Best Environmental Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Springfield is $12,034 for Illinois Ecosystem Studies students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Illinois at Springfield Environmental Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 16 diplomas to qualified ’s ecosystem studies students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Environmental Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $16,285 for illinois ecosystem studies students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Environmental Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 31 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
NIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Environmental Studies Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $13,956 for Illinois Ecosystem Studies students per year to attend NIU.
Read more about Environmental Studies at NIU
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Augustana College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois. Augustana College is a small school located in Rock Island, Illinois that handed out 20 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Augustana also made our “Best Environmental Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Augustana College is $23,489 for illinois ecosystem studies students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Environmental Studies at Augustana
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 14 ’s ecosystem studies degrees in 2020-2021.
DePaul also took the #4 spot in our “Best Environmental Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $31,174 for Illinois Ecosystem Studies students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Read full report on Environmental Studies at DePaul
Loyola University Chicago did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 16 degrees to qualified ’s ecosystem studies students in 2020-2021.
Loyola Chicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Environmental Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola Chicago is $36,434 for illinois ecosystem studies 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Environmental Studies at Loyola Chicago
With a ranking of #7, Lake Forest College did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Ecosystem Studies Schools in Illinois list. Lake Forest College is located in Lake Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 15 ’s ecosystem studies degrees to qualified students.
Lake Forest not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Environmental Studies Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $23,991 for Illinois Ecosystem Studies students per year to attend Lake Forest.
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 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Lake Forest College Environmental Studies Report
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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
- *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 Lynn Betts.