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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in Illinois

10 Ranked Colleges
314 Degrees Awarded
$28,200 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master's in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 52,879 people earned their degree in physical sciences, making the major the 18th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, physical sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $38,122 and had an average of $22,339 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,704 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,790 and $21,894 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 314 physical sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in physical sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality physical sciences 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 physical sciences program at the school. 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 Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois” list to help you make the college decision.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois.

Top 10 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Physical Sciences in Illinois

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

SIUE also made our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are $9,300, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at SIUE

#2

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Illinois State University is located in Normal, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 masters’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

Illinois State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State University are $11,069, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Illinois State Physical Sciences Report

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 45 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. 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 Physical Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#4

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 23 degrees to qualified masters’s physical sciences students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree physical sciences students list, WIU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Western Illinois University Physical Sciences Report

#9 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 masters’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree physical sciences students list, SIUC has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Physical Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#7 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036.

Read more about Physical Sciences at UIC

#7

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#10 in overall quality

Northern Illinois University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Dekalb, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s physical sciences degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.

NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Physical Sciences 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 NIU are $11,086.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Northern Illinois University

#3 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 23 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree physical sciences students list, Illinois Tech has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology Physical Sciences Report

#9

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

Northwestern University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 27 masters’s physical sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. 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 Physical Sciences at Northwestern University

#10

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Physical Sciences Schools for a Master’s in Illinois list. University of Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 69 masters’s physical sciences degrees to qualified students.

UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Physical Sciences at UChicago

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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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NASA.

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