Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Theological & Ministerial Studies

Find Schools Near

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

6 Ranked Colleges
816 Degrees Awarded
$16,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 15,051 people earned their degree in theological and ministerial studies, making the major the 55th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, theological and ministerial studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,911 and had an average of $41,597 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 816 theological and ministerial studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $45,575 and $43,492 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 6 colleges that offered a degree in theological and ministerial studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent theological and ministerial studies programs, but they also cost less that 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 theological and ministerial studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools

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 Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 6 Best Value Colleges for Theological & Ministerial Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 77 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $2,712 for Illinois Theology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Theological & Ministerial Studies at University of Chicago

#2

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wheaton College Illinois. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Wheaton College Illinois is a small school located in Wheaton, Illinois that handed out 38 ’s theology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois theology students whose families make $0-$30k list, Wheaton College Illinois has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $18,440 for illinois theology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Wheaton College Illinois.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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. The low student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 Theological & Ministerial Studies at Wheaton College Illinois

#3

Moody Bible Institute

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Moody Bible Institute. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 197 degrees to qualified ’s theology students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois theology students whose families make $0-$30k list, Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,212 for illinois theology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Moody Bible Institute.

Read full report on Theological & Ministerial Studies at Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Olivet Nazarene University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Olivet Nazarene University is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 15 ’s theology degrees in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene also took the #7 spot in our “Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene is $15,806 for Illinois Theology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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 Olivet Nazarene University Theological & Ministerial Studies Report

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Trinity International University - Illinois landed the #5 spot on the list. Deerfield, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s theology degrees to 111 students in 2019-2020.

TIU Illinois did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Trinity International University - Illinois is $17,405 for Illinois Theology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Trinity International University - Illinois Theological & Ministerial Studies Report

#6

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Theology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 14 ’s theology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loyola Chicago, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Theological & Ministerial Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $29,440 for Illinois Theology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Loyola University Chicago.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. 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 full report on Theological & Ministerial Studies at Loyola Chicago

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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 Jonund.

Featured Philosophy and Religious Studies Schools

Find Schools Near You