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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Sociology in Illinois

10 Ranked Colleges
71 Degrees Awarded
$25,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master's in Illinois

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking.

Sociology is the 24th most popular major in the country with 37,807 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, sociology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,727 and had an average of $23,622 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 860 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,900 and $23,883 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 71 sociology graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in sociology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality sociology programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the sociology program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Sociology Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” list to help you make the college 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

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

Top 10 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Sociology in Illinois

#1

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Illinois State University is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 7 masters’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also made our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State are $11,069, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Illinois State University Sociology Report

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 5 diplomas to qualified masters’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Sociology at UIUC

#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. SIUE is a fairly large school located in Edwardsville, Illinois that handed out 4 masters’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are $9,300, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Sociology at SIUE

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school awarded 8 degrees to qualified masters’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Sociology at UIC

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. Northern Illinois University is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Illinois University are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northern Illinois University Sociology Report

#6

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified masters’s sociology students in 2019-2020.

WIU also took the #10 spot in our “Best Sociology 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 full report on Sociology at Western Illinois University

#7

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Loyola University Chicago came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola University Chicago are $19,154, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Sociology at Loyola University Chicago

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #8. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 11 masters’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #6 spot in our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Sociology at DePaul University

#9

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Northwestern University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 9 masters’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Sociology at Northwestern

#10

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

University of Chicago came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sociology Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 9 masters’s sociology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree sociology students list, UChicago has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Sociology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Sociology at University of Chicago

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 Kontos.

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