2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 30,341 people earned their degree in natural resources and conservation, making the major the 26th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, natural resources and conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,196 and had an average of $25,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 631 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,920 and $23,093 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 91 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in natural resources and conservation. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great natural resources and conservation 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 natural resources and conservation program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Natural Resources & Conservation Schools

The natural resources & conservation school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k”.

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. 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 Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 17 degrees to qualified masters’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.

UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Chicago

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees to 26 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $30-$48k list, UIUC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’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.

Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#3

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$16,757 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Springfield is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 23 masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

UIS also made our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIS are $16,757, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UIS Natural Resources & Conservation Report

#4

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$32,928 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #4 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUC are $32,928, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

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 Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified masters’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #0. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at DePaul

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (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 Lynn Betts.

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