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2022 Best Value Colleges for Criminology (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

6 Ranked Colleges
176 Degrees Awarded
$17,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Criminology is the 82nd most popular major in the country with 10,182 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, criminology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,583 and had an average of $24,397 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 176 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,900 and $24,278 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 6 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality criminology programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the criminology 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.

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 6 Best Value Colleges for Criminology (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois
#1 in overall quality
$13,658 Average Net Price
$38,710 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #1 spot on the list. SIUC is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 86 ’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Criminology Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $13,658 for illinois criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Read full report on Criminology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#2

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois
#3 in overall quality
$14,178 Average Net Price
$47,300 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend National Louis University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. National Louis University is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 29 ’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

NLU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Criminology Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NLU is $14,178 for illinois criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Criminology at NLU

#3

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois
#2 in overall quality
$17,060 Average Net Price
$38,363 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dominican University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Dominican University is a small school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 32 ’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

Dominican U also took the #2 spot in our “Best Criminology Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,060 for Illinois Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Dominican U.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Criminology at Dominican University

#4

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois
#6 in overall quality
$14,097 Average Net Price
$51,550 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Concordia University, Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 17 ’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, Concordia University, Chicago has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Criminology Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Concordia University, Chicago is $14,097 for Illinois Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Concordia University, Chicago Criminology Report

#5

Rockford University

Rockford, Illinois
#5 in overall quality
$21,868 Average Net Price
$43,060 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Rockford University landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in Rockford, Illinois, and it awarded 5 ’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

Rockford did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Criminology Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $21,868 for illinois criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Rockford University.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Rockford Criminology Report

#6

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#4 in overall quality
$26,173 Average Net Price
$46,448 Average Early-Career Earnings

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s criminology degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Criminology Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $26,173 for illinois criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full DePaul University Criminology Report

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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