by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a degree. College Factual has developed its Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking as one thing you can use to help make this decision. This list is proof that you shouldn't avoid normally high-priced schools, since the actual price may be very affordable if you qualify for financial aid.
In This Year's Value Report:
We analyzed 37 schools across Illinois to determine which have the best value Master's Degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best value schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking, we first consider its average net price of students from families making $30-$48k a year. The net price is the sum of room and board, tuition, and fees minus any financial aid that that the student receives. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Find out more about our best value ranking methodology.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2024 rankings named University of Chicago the best value (income $30-$48k) school in Illinois for students working on their master’s degree. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Chicago is ranked #1 for quality in the state of Illinois.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois list. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and has a large student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Northwestern University a great value, but it is also ranked #2 in Illinois for overall quality.
Out of the 37 master’s degree schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school located in Champaign, Illinois.
Not only is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Illinois for overall quality.
Read full value report on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The quality degree programs at University of Illinois at Chicago helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois. UIC is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois.
University of Illinois at Chicago has the honor of being ranked #12 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
A rank of #5 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois list means University of St Francis is a great place for students working on their degree. University of Saint Francis is located in Joliet, Illinois and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is University of St Francis a great value, but it is also ranked #16 in Illinois for overall quality.
With a ranking of #6, University of Illinois at Springfield did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois list. UIS is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of Illinois at Springfield is ranked #32 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Learn More About Value at University of Illinois at Springfield
Governors State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. GSU is a public institution located in University Park, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Governors State University is ranked #34 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Aurora University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #8. Aurora is located in Aurora, Illinois and has a medium-sized student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Aurora University has the honor of being ranked #8 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, the school is a fairly large public institution.
Not only is Southern Illinois University Edwardsville a great value, but it is also ranked #30 in Illinois for overall quality.
Read full value report on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Wheaton College Illinois came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit institution located in Wheaton, Illinois.
Not only is Wheaton College Illinois a great value, but it is also ranked #10 in Illinois for overall quality.
Western Illinois University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #11. WIU is located in Macomb, Illinois and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
Western Illinois University has the honor of being ranked #28 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Eastern Illinois University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #12. EIU is a public institution located in Charleston, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Eastern Illinois University is ranked #27 for quality in the state of Illinois.
With a ranking of #13, National Louis University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois list. NLU is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a medium-sized student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is National Louis University a great value, but it is also ranked #13 in Illinois for overall quality.
Concordia University, Chicago landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in River Forest, Illinois.
Not only is Concordia University, Chicago a great value, but it is also ranked #5 in Illinois for overall quality.
Lewis University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #15. Located in Romeoville, Illinois, the school is a medium-sized private not-for-profit institution.
Lewis University has the honor of being ranked #20 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Saint Xavier University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is Saint Xavier University a great value, but it is also ranked #29 in Illinois for overall quality.
Illinois State University landed the #17 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Illinois State is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Illinois State University is ranked #11 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Northern Illinois University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois list. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, the school is a fairly large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Northern Illinois University is ranked #25 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Olivet Nazarene University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Olivet Nazarene University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
Olivet Nazarene University has the honor of being ranked #17 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, the school is a fairly large public institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Southern Illinois University Carbondale is ranked #19 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Learn More About Value at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Bradley University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #21. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Bradley University has the honor of being ranked #9 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Illinois Institute of Technology came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Illinois Institute of Technology is ranked #7 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Dominican University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois list. Dominican U is located in River Forest, Illinois and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Dominican University is ranked #21 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Chicago State University landed the #24 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois ranking. Chicago State University is a small public school located in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Chicago State University is ranked #37 for quality in the state of Illinois.
With a ranking of #25, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois list. Northeastern Illinois University is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a medium-sized student population. It is a public school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Northeastern Illinois University is ranked #35 for quality in the state of Illinois.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
