2026 Best Value Educational Psychology Schools in Illinois

[Educational Psychology](/majors/psychology/clinical-counseling-applied-psychology/educational-psychology/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
College Factual analyzed 5 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value educational psychology schools.
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2026 Best Value Educational Psychology Schools in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in educational psychology, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Educational Psychology Schools
University Of Illinois At Chicago earned the #1 spot for value among educational psychology schools in Illinois. Set in the city of Chicago, University Of Illinois At Chicago is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $15,949, compared with $32,009 for out-of-state students. Students borrow a median of $20,115 to complete the educational psychology program here. Early-career educational psychology graduates make about $61,829. Set against $20,115 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. University Of Illinois At Chicago admits about 77% of applicants.
Students looking for strong value in educational psychology will find it at National Louis University, which ranked #2. National Louis University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. Students from in state pay about $13,245 in tuition and fees. Typical student debt for educational psychology graduates is $29,242. Educational Psychology graduates of National Louis University earn a median of $53,733 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $29,242 median debt. National Louis University admits about 95% of applicants.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Loyola University Chicago earned it the #3 place for educational psychology. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university. Students from in state pay about $53,710 in tuition and fees. Students borrow a median of $23,521 to complete the educational psychology program here. Soon after graduation, educational psychology degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago generally make around $67,469. That is a strong return on a $23,521 median debt. The acceptance rate is 82%.
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Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 5 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.