2022 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Engineering-Related Fields is the 120th most popular major in the country with 6,319 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, engineering-related fields graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $73,026 and had an average of $26,903 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 235 engineering-related fields graduates with average earnings and debt of $107,150 and $40,707 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 219 engineering-related fields graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in engineering-related fields. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great engineering-related fields programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the engineering-related fields program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our 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 Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering-Related Fields (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$118,465 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s engineering-related fields degrees to 51 students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields 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 are $56,567.

Full Northwestern University Engineering-Related Fields Report

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$80,273 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 93 masters’s engineering-related fields degrees to qualified students.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Engineering-Related Fields at UIUC

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$11,086 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 17 masters’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields 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 NIU are $11,086.

Read full report on Engineering-Related Fields at NIU

#4

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$30,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$64,493 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 58 masters’s engineering-related fields degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695.

Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at Illinois Institute of Technology

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering-Related Fields (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering-Related Fields (Income $0-$30k)

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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