2024 Best Value Colleges for International Relations & National Security in Illinois
8
Ranked Colleges
389
Degrees Awarded
$26,400
Avg Net Price*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
International Relations & National Security is the 67th most popular major in the country with 14,306 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, international relations & national security graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $41,288 and had an average of $21,455 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 389 international relations & national security graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,470 and $21,784 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in international relations & national security. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent international relations & national security programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the international relations & national security program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank International Relations & National Security Schools
The international relations 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 International Relations Schools in Illinois”.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for International Relations & National Security in Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois list. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 39 ’s international relations degrees to qualified students.
DePaul also made our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $31,174 for illinois international relations students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on International Relations & National Security at DePaul University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wheaton College Illinois. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois list. This small school is located in Wheaton, Illinois, and it awarded 34 ’s international relations degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our illinois international relations students list, Wheaton College Illinois has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Wheaton College Illinois is $25,692 for Illinois International Relations students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about International Relations & National Security at Wheaton College Illinois
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Roosevelt University landed the #3 spot on the list. Roosevelt University is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 7 ’s international relations degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Roosevelt, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Roosevelt is $21,678 for Illinois International Relations students.
Read full report on International Relations & National Security at Roosevelt University
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Forest College landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 16 ’s international relations degrees in 2020-2021.
Lake Forest not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest College is $23,991 for illinois international relations students.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Lake Forest International Relations & National Security Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Knox College landed the #5 spot on the list. Knox is a small school located in Galesburg, Illinois that handed out 8 ’s international relations degrees in 2020-2021.
Knox also made our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Knox College is $20,548 for Illinois International Relations students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Knox College International Relations & National Security Report
Loyola University Chicago landed the #6 spot on the 2024 Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois ranking. Loyola Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 62 ’s international relations degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loyola Chicago, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Chicago is $36,434 for Illinois International Relations students.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about International Relations & National Security at Loyola University Chicago
With a ranking of #7, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2024 Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 162 ’s international relations degrees in 2020-2021.
UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $28,517 for illinois international relations students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on International Relations & National Security at University of Chicago
With a ranking of #7, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value International Relations Schools in Illinois list. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 42 ’s international relations degrees in 2020-2021.
Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $23,279 for illinois international relations students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%.
Read more about International Relations & National Security at Northwestern
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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
- *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.
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