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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Industrial Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

25 Ranked Colleges
1,312 Degrees Awarded
$18,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region

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 IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Industrial Engineering is the 86th most popular major in the country with 9,448 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, industrial engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,716 and had an average of $22,994 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,969 industrial engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $66,753 and $24,537 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,312 industrial engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 25 colleges that offered a degree in industrial engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality industrial engineering programs that also have a lower cost than 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 industrial engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Industrial Engineering Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Industrial Engineering in the Great Lakes Region

#1

University of Wisconsin - Platteville

Platteville, Wisconsin

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Platteville. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Platteville, Wisconsin is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s IE degrees to 54 students in 2019-2020.

UW - Platteville did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $15,718 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Platteville.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Platteville

#17 in overall quality

Out of the 25 schools in the Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #2 spot on the list. SIUE is a fairly large school located in Edwardsville, Illinois that handed out 27 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #17 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend SIUE is $14,423 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students.

Read more about Industrial Engineering at SIUE

#3

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Purdue University - Main Campus is located in West Lafayette, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 276 bachelors’s IE degrees to qualified students.

Purdue also took the #3 spot in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $13,986 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students per year to attend Purdue University - Main Campus.

With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Purdue University - Main Campus

#4

Western Michigan University

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Out of the 25 schools in the Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Michigan University landed the #4 spot on the list. Western Michigan University is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s IE degrees to qualified students.

WMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $19,433 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students per year to attend Western Michigan University.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Western Michigan University

#5

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, Ohio

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Youngstown State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Youngstown State University is a fairly large public school situated in Youngstown, Ohio. It awarded 28 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Youngstown State University also made our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #23. The estimated yearly cost for Youngstown State University is $11,947 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

Full Youngstown State University Industrial Engineering Report

#6

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

Northern Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 23 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also took the #19 spot in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $18,259 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

Full NIU Industrial Engineering Report

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee did quite well in the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this large public school awarded 31 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s IE students in 2019-2020.

UWM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee is $17,876 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

#8

Oakland University

Rochester Hills, Michigan

With a ranking of #8, Oakland University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Oakland University is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 31 bachelors’s IE degrees to qualified students.

Oakland did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Oakland University is $11,802 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

Full Oakland University Industrial Engineering Report

With a ranking of #9, Kent State University at Kent did quite well on the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Kent State University at Kent is located in Kent, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 65 bachelors’s IE degrees to qualified students.

Kent State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $18,885 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students per year to attend Kent State.

Read more about Industrial Engineering at Kent State University at Kent

#10

Baker College

Owosso, Michigan
#24 in overall quality

Baker College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #10. Baker College is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Owosso, Michigan. It awarded 1 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Baker College also took the #24 spot in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Baker College is $15,049 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Baker College

University of Michigan - Dearborn ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Michigan - Dearborn is a medium-sized school located in Dearborn, Michigan that handed out 10 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

UM Dearborn also made our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #16. It costs about $11,473 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students per year to attend UM Dearborn.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at UM Dearborn

Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 122 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Ohio State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $17,616 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students per year to attend Ohio State University - Main Campus.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Ohio State University - Main Campus Industrial Engineering Report

With a ranking of #13, Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Athens, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s IE degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

OHIO Athens also took the #21 spot in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend OHIO Athens is $22,906 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Ohio University - Athens Campus

University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school handed out 24 degrees to qualified bachelors’s IE students in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at UIC

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 68 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s IE students in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full UIUC Industrial Engineering Report

#16

Indiana Institute of Technology

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Indiana Institute of Technology landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This small school is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Indiana Tech also made our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #20. It costs about $19,305 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students per year to attend Indiana Institute of Technology.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Indiana Institute of Technology

University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s IE degrees to 116 students in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison also took the #4 spot in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Wisconsin - Madison is $17,708 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

Read more about Industrial Engineering at University of Wisconsin - Madison

#18

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University landed the #18 spot on the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Bradley University is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 12 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley also took the #10 spot in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bradley University is $25,634 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Industrial Engineering at Bradley

#19

Wayne State University

Detroit, Michigan

Wayne State University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Detroit, Michigan, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Wayne State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #18 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Wayne State is $13,965 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students.

Read full report on Industrial Engineering at Wayne State University

#20

Kettering University

Flint, Michigan

Kettering University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #20. Kettering University is a small school located in Flint, Michigan that handed out 23 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Kettering also made our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $37,518 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students per year to attend Kettering.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Kettering Industrial Engineering Report

#21

Lawrence Technological University

Southfield, Michigan
#13 in overall quality

With a ranking of #21, Lawrence Technological University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Lawrence Tech is a small school located in Southfield, Michigan that handed out 2 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Lawrence Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Lawrence Tech is $32,721 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students.

Read more about Industrial Engineering at Lawrence Tech

#22

Milwaukee School of Engineering

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

With a ranking of #22, Milwaukee School of Engineering did quite well on the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This small school is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students list, MSOE has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend MSOE is $24,440 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Milwaukee School of Engineering Industrial Engineering Report

Indiana Institute of Technology - College of Professional Studies did quite well in the 2022 Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #23. Indiana Institute of Technology - College of Professional Studies is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Fort-Wayne, Indiana. It awarded 20 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Indiana Tech - CPS also made our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #25. It costs about $16,269 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students per year to attend Indiana Tech - CPS.

Read more about Industrial Engineering at Indiana Institute of Technology - College of Professional Studies

#24

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 184 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at U-M, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $15,336 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree ie students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full U-M Industrial Engineering Report

#25

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University ranked #25 on this year’s Best Value IE Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 87 bachelors’s IE degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree IE students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Northwestern University Industrial Engineering Report

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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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