2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering-Related Fields (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in engineering-related fields. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent engineering-related fields 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 engineering-related fields program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Engineering-Related Fields Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering-Related Fields (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$118,465 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 $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 51 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at Northwestern University

#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

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 Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s engineering-related fields degrees to 93 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Engineering-Related Fields at UIUC

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$11,086 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering-Related Fields Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k 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 Northern Illinois University are $11,086.

Read full report on Engineering-Related Fields at Northern Illinois University

#4

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$30,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$64,493 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 $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #4 spot on the list. Illinois Tech is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 58 masters’s engineering-related fields degrees to qualified students.

Illinois Tech also made our “Best Engineering-Related Fields Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Engineering-Related Fields at Illinois Institute of Technology

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering-Related Fields (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Engineering-Related Fields (Income $30-$48k)

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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