2023 Best Value Colleges for Sustainability Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
8
Ranked Colleges
583
Degrees Awarded
$11,000
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Sustainability Studies is the 248th most popular major in the country with 3,005 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 583 sustainability studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in sustainability studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality sustainability studies 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 sustainability studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. 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 Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Sustainability Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 53 ’s sustainability degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at U-M, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $2,670 for Great Lakes Region Sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend U-M.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Sustainability Studies at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 86 ’s sustainability degrees in 2020-2021.
UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $4,858 for Great Lakes Region Sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UIUC.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full UIUC Sustainability Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k. Michigan State is a large school located in East Lansing, Michigan that handed out 39 ’s sustainability degrees in 2020-2021.
Michigan State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Michigan State University is $6,927 for Great Lakes Region Sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 Michigan State University Sustainability Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Miami University - Oxford. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. Oxford, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s sustainability degrees to 23 students in 2020-2021.
Miami University - Oxford also took the #3 spot in our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $13,956 for Great Lakes Region Sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Miami University - Oxford.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Miami University - Oxford Sustainability Studies Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Superior landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in Superior, Wisconsin, and it awarded 10 ’s sustainability degrees in 2020-2021.
UW - Superior did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Superior is $9,360 for great lakes region sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k.
Full University of Wisconsin - Superior Sustainability Studies Report
University of Wisconsin - Green Bay came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. UW - Green Bay is located in Green Bay, Wisconsin and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 23 ’s sustainability degrees to qualified students.
UW - Green Bay also took the #7 spot in our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Green Bay is $8,258 for great lakes region sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read more about Sustainability Studies at UW - Green Bay
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Cincinnati, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s sustainability degrees to 28 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is $15,061 for Great Lakes Region Sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UC Sustainability Studies Report
DePaul University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value Sustainability Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 21 diplomas to qualified ’s sustainability students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k list, DePaul has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Sustainability Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend DePaul is $27,123 for Great Lakes Region Sustainability students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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 more about Sustainability Studies at DePaul University
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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
- *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
