Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Mechanical Engineering

Find Schools Near

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

8 Ranked Colleges
281 Degrees Awarded
$26,800 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value ME Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 47,598 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 20th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,495 and had an average of $23,104 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,232 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,288 and $21,821 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 281 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent mechanical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the mechanical engineering 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 ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” 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 when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree me students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

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 ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 40 masters’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value ME 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. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 70 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UIUC

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. UIC is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 59 masters’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full UIC Mechanical Engineering Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #4 spot on the list. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s ME degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree me students whose families make $0-$30k list, SIUE has also earned the #0 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are $9,300, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full SIUE Mechanical Engineering Report

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value ME 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 #5 spot on the list. NIU is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 18 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Illinois University are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northern Illinois University Mechanical Engineering Report

#7 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s ME degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree me students whose families make $0-$30k list, SIUC has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUC are $32,928, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at SIUC

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Bradley University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s ME degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

Bradley also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Bradley are $17,040.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Bradley University

Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 72 masters’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Tech, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Tech are $30,695, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

Switch to a Similar Major

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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

Featured Engineering Schools

Find Schools Near You