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2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration in Illinois (With Aid)

11 Ranked Colleges
457 Degrees Awarded
$17,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

Public Administration is the 58th most popular major in the country with 17,269 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,859 and had an average of $42,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 457 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $46,625 and $39,969 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in public administration. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public administration 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 public administration program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Public Administration Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. 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 Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois public admin students with aid.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration in Illinois (With Aid)

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 94 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $13,312 for Illinois Public Admin students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UIC Public Administration Report

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Springfield, Illinois, and it awarded 86 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

UIS not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Springfield is $12,477 for illinois public admin students with aid.

Full UIS Public Administration Report

#3

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Governors State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. GSU is located in University Park, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

GSU also made our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend GSU is $12,077 for Illinois Public Admin students with aid.

Read full report on Public Administration at Governors State University

#4

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. NIU is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 32 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,259 for Illinois Public Admin students with aid per year to attend Northern Illinois University.

Read more about Public Administration at Northern Illinois University

#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 88 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois public admin students with aid list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $24,664 for Illinois Public Admin students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Northwestern Public Administration Report

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a public institution located in Edwardsville, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 29 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE also took the #7 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $14,423 for Illinois Public Admin students with aid.

Read more about Public Administration at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

#7

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois

Aurora University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Aurora University is located in Aurora, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

Aurora not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Aurora University is $17,215 for illinois public admin students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at Aurora University

#8

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois

National Louis University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 12 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois public admin students with aid list, NLU has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend NLU is $14,957 for illinois public admin students with aid.

Read full report on Public Administration at National Louis University

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois public admin students with aid list, SIUC has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,945 for illinois public admin students with aid per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Read full report on Public Administration at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#10

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

Roosevelt University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #10. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 8 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

Roosevelt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $22,749 for illinois public admin students with aid per year to attend Roosevelt University.

Read more about Public Administration at Roosevelt University

#11

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #11, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 42 students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $30,090 for Illinois Public Admin students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at DePaul

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.

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