by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to choose from today when trying to decide which school to attend. College Factual has developed its Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking as one thing you can use to help make this decision. This list is proof that you shouldn't avoid normally high-priced schools, since the actual price may be very affordable if you qualify for financial aid.
In This Year's Value Report:
We analyzed 37 schools across Illinois to determine which have the best value Master's Degree programs. Our ranking for the best value schools is based on objective factors. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking, we first consider its average net price of students from families making $48-$75k a year. The net price is the sum of room and board, tuition, and fees minus any financial aid that that the student receives. In addition, the overall quality of a school is important to ensure a good education, not just how much it costs.
To make it into this list a school must offer a quality education like the schools in our Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considers factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Find out more about our best value ranking methodology.
You can scroll down to see the top schools for this ranking, but you may also want to view some of the other ranking methods listed below.
Know what field you want to major in? Make sure you check out our best value schools by major. In addition, you can select one of the links below to see the best value colleges for other degree levels.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
University of Chicago tops this year’s ranking as the best value (income $48-$75k) school for master’s degrees in Illinois for overall quality. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is University of Chicago a great value, but it is also ranked #1 in Illinois for overall quality.
A rank of #2 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois list means Northwestern University is a great place for students working on their degree. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Evanston, Illinois.
Northwestern University has the honor of being ranked #2 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
A rank of #3 on our Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place for students working on their degree. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois.
Not only is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign a great value, but it is also ranked #3 in Illinois for overall quality.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Value Report
The quality degree programs at University of Illinois at Chicago helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is University of Illinois at Chicago a great value, but it is also ranked #12 in Illinois for overall quality.
The quality degree programs at Concordia University, Chicago helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois. River Forest, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Concordia University, Chicago has the honor of being ranked #5 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
National Louis University landed the #6 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. NLU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois.
National Louis University has the honor of being ranked #13 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. Located in Springfield, Illinois, the school is a small public institution.
University of Illinois at Springfield has the honor of being ranked #32 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Learn More About Value at University of Illinois at Springfield
Aurora University landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. Located in Aurora, Illinois, the school is a medium-sized private not-for-profit institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Aurora University is ranked #8 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Western Illinois University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois list. WIU is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois.
Western Illinois University has the honor of being ranked #28 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Eastern Illinois University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. EIU is a public institution located in Charleston, Illinois.
Not only is Eastern Illinois University a great value, but it is also ranked #27 in Illinois for overall quality.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #11 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, the school is a fairly large public institution.
Not only is Southern Illinois University Edwardsville a great value, but it is also ranked #30 in Illinois for overall quality.
Learn More About Value at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Governors State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. GSU is a public institution located in University Park, Illinois.
Not only is Governors State University a great value, but it is also ranked #34 in Illinois for overall quality.
With a ranking of #13, Saint Xavier University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois list. Saint Xavier University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Saint Xavier University is ranked #29 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Lewis University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #14. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Romeoville, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Lewis University is ranked #20 for quality in the state of Illinois.
With a ranking of #15, University of St Francis did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois list. Located in Joliet, Illinois, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, University of St Francis is ranked #16 for quality in the state of Illinois.
With a ranking of #16, Northern Illinois University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois list. NIU is located in Dekalb, Illinois and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Northern Illinois University has the honor of being ranked #25 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #17. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, the school is a fairly large public institution.
Not only is Southern Illinois University Carbondale a great value, but it is also ranked #19 in Illinois for overall quality.
Olivet Nazarene University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
Olivet Nazarene University has the honor of being ranked #17 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #19 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Illinois Institute of Technology is ranked #7 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Illinois State University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois list. Illinois State is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois.
Not only is Illinois State University a great value, but it is also ranked #11 in Illinois for overall quality.
Wheaton College Illinois did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #21. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Wheaton, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Wheaton College Illinois is ranked #10 for quality in the state of Illinois.
North Park University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. North Park is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, North Park University is ranked #26 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Dominican University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school situated in River Forest, Illinois.
Not only is Dominican University a great value, but it is also ranked #21 in Illinois for overall quality.
Bradley University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. Located in Peoria, Illinois, the school is a medium-sized private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is Bradley University a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in Illinois for overall quality.
Northeastern Illinois University landed the #25 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois ranking. Northeastern Illinois University is a medium-sized public school situated in Chicago, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Northeastern Illinois University is ranked #35 for quality in the state of Illinois.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.