2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking.

Natural Resources & Conservation is the 26th most popular major in the country with 30,341 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, natural resources and conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,196 and had an average of $25,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 631 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,920 and $23,093 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 91 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural resources and conservation. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent natural resources and conservation 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 natural resources and conservation program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree natural resources & conservation students.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

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 #1 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 26 masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. 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 Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$16,757 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #2 spot on the list. UIS is a small school located in Springfield, Illinois that handed out 23 masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree natural resources & conservation students list, UIS has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIS are $16,757, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Illinois at Springfield Natural Resources & Conservation Report

#3

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$32,928 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 14 masters’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Natural Resources & Conservation Report

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 17 degrees to qualified masters’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree natural resources & conservation students list, UChicago has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Chicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UChicago Natural Resources & Conservation Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation

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

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.

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