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2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

11 Ranked Colleges
457 Degrees Awarded
$13,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 17,269 people earned their degree in public administration, making the major the 58th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $48,859 and had an average of $42,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 457 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $46,625 and $39,969 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in public administration. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public administration programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public administration program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Public Administration Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Public Administration (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 88 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $1,866 for Illinois Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Administration at Northwestern University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 94 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $10,648 for illinois public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at University of Illinois at Chicago

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUE, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,055 for Illinois Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend SIUE.

Read full report on Public Administration at SIUE

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Springfield. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Springfield, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 86 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois public admin students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIS has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIS is $9,771 for Illinois Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Public Administration at University of Illinois at Springfield

#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 Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 32 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Northern Illinois University is $15,281 for Illinois Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Northern Illinois University Public Administration Report

#6

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois

Governors State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. University Park, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

GSU also took the #8 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Governors State University is $10,872 for illinois public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Public Administration at GSU

#7

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois

Aurora University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Aurora, Illinois, and it awarded 14 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

Aurora also took the #4 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Aurora University is $14,103 for illinois public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Administration at Aurora

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 6 ’s public admin degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also took the #9 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $13,658 for Illinois Public Admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full SIUC Public Administration Report

#9

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois

National Louis University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. National Louis University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

NLU also took the #10 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,178 for illinois public admin students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend NLU.

Read full report on Public Administration at NLU

#10

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

Roosevelt University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified ’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

Roosevelt also took the #11 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Roosevelt University is $20,398 for illinois public admin students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Roosevelt Public Administration Report

#11

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Public Admin Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 42 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Administration Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend DePaul is $26,173 for Illinois Public Admin 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 Public Administration 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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