2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 18,368 people earned their degree in information science, making the major the 56th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, information science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $58,848 and had an average of $32,600 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 847 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,000 and $31,486 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 523 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in information science. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great information science programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

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

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 IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” 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 IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science in Illinois (With Aid)

#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 IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 358 masters’s IS degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree is students with aid list, UIUC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Information Science at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$105,678 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 76 masters’s IS degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree is students with aid list, Northwestern has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567.

Full Northwestern University Information Science Report

#3

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$17,040 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the #3 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 4 masters’s IS degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Bradley are $17,040.

Full Bradley Information Science Report

#4

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

$21,605 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Roosevelt University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Roosevelt is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 masters’s IS degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree is students with aid list, Roosevelt has also earned the #0 rank in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Roosevelt University are $21,605, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Roosevelt University Information Science Report

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$89,524 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value IS Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 82 diplomas to qualified masters’s IS students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #3 spot in our “Best Information Science Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul University are $19,760.

Read more about Information Science at DePaul University

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Information Science (With Aid)

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 The Opte Project.

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