2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geography in Illinois (With Aid)

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 5,476 people earned their degree in geography, making the major the 144th most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 182 geography graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 13 geography graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in geography. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geography 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 geography program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Geography Schools

The geography 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 Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid”.

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 Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geography in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 1 masters’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best Geography Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Geography at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Edwardsville, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$9,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a fairly large school located in Edwardsville, Illinois that handed out 6 masters’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Geography Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUE are $9,300, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Geography at SIUE

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$11,086 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #3 spot on the list. Dekalb, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s geography degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

NIU also took the #2 spot in our “Best Geography 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 NIU are $11,086.

Full NIU Geography Report

#4

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$15,056 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Chicago State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. CSU is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 masters’s geography degrees to qualified students.

CSU also made our “Best Geography Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Chicago State University are $15,056.

Full CSU Geography Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geography in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geography (With Aid)

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 Couleur.

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