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2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

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 $30-$48k

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 ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Mechanical Engineering is the 20th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 $30-$48k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great mechanical engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

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 $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. 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 $30-$48k

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

Top 8 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value ME 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. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 40 diplomas to qualified masters’s ME students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University

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 ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 70 masters’s ME degrees to qualified students.

UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering 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.

Full UIUC Mechanical Engineering Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school handed out 59 diplomas to qualified masters’s ME students in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #4 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UIC Mechanical Engineering Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified masters’s ME students in 2019-2020.

SIUE also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #0. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUE are $9,300, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 18 masters’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Illinois University are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at NIU

#7 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. SIUC is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 7 masters’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering 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 SIUC are $32,928.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at SIUC

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Bradley University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Bradley University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 11 masters’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at Bradley University are $17,040, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Bradley University

Illinois Institute of Technology came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Illinois Tech is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 72 masters’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Illinois Tech also took the #3 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology 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

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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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