2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Natural Resources & Conservation is the 26th most popular major in the country with 30,341 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in natural resources and conservation. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent natural resources and conservation programs, but they also 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (Income $75-$110k) 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 $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 17 masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. 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 UChicago

#2

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$16,757 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Springfield. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. University of Illinois at Springfield is a public institution located in Springfield, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 23 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

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

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at UIS

#3

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 $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 26 diplomas to qualified masters’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083.

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

#4

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$32,928 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 14 masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928.

Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at SIUC

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

$19,760 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 $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #5 spot on the list. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.

DePaul also took the #0 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760.

Full DePaul University Natural Resources & Conservation Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (Income $75-$110k)

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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