2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geography & Cartography in Illinois

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 Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Geography & Cartography is the 107th most popular major in the country with 8,936 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, geography and cartography graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,126 and had an average of $23,577 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 242 geography and cartography graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,000 and $19,500 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 38 geography and cartography 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” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in geography and cartography. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality geography and cartography programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the geography and cartography 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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree geography students.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geography & Cartography in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$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 list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 14 masters’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree geography students list, UIUC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Geography & Cartography Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at UIUC

#2

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Edwardsville, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$9,300 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified masters’s geography students in 2019-2020.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Geography & Cartography 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 SIUE are $9,300.

Full Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Geography & Cartography Report

#3

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$20,761 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. EIU is located in Charleston, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 masters’s geography degrees to qualified students.

EIU also made our “Best Geography & Cartography Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern Illinois University are $20,761, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full EIU Geography & Cartography Report

#4

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$11,086 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #4 spot on the list. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 4 masters’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree geography students list, NIU has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Geography & Cartography Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Illinois University are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full NIU Geography & Cartography Report

#5

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

#5 in overall quality

$11,996 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Geography Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Western Illinois University is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 6 masters’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree geography students list, WIU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Geography & Cartography Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Western Illinois University are $11,996, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Geography & Cartography at WIU

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geography & Cartography in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Geography & Cartography

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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