by our College Data Analytics TeamThere are lots of options to choose from today when trying to decide which school to attend. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. You may be surprised that some normally high-priced schools offer very generous financial aid packages to those who qualify.
In This Year's Value Report:
After analyzing 37 schools in Illinois, we came up with our list of those that offered 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. We explain more about what we look at and why we do so below.
To calculate the value of a school in our Best Master's Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking, we first consider its average net price, which 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 quality 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.
We go into more detail on these factors on our best value ranking methodology page.
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:
Our analysis found University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to be the best value (with aid) school for master’s degrees in Illinois in this year’s ranking. Located in Champaign, Illinois, the school is a large public institution.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has the honor of being ranked #3 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The quality degree programs at University of Illinois at Chicago helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois. This large public school is located in Chicago, Illinois.
University of Illinois at Chicago has the honor of being ranked #12 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
The quality degree programs at National Louis University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois. National Louis University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located 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.
Out of the 37 master’s degree schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Chicago State University landed the #4 spot on the list. CSU is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois.
Not only is Chicago State University a great value, but it is also ranked #37 in Illinois for overall quality.
The quality degree programs at Western Illinois University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Not only is Western Illinois University a great value, but it is also ranked #28 in Illinois for overall quality.
Governors State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. GSU is located in University Park, Illinois and has a small student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Governors State University a great value, but it is also ranked #34 in Illinois for overall quality.
University of Illinois at Springfield did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #7. UIS is a public institution located in Springfield, Illinois.
University of Illinois at Springfield has the honor of being ranked #32 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Read full value report on University of Illinois at Springfield
With a ranking of #8, Northern Illinois University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. This fairly large public school is located in Dekalb, Illinois.
Northern Illinois University has the honor of being ranked #25 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Concordia University, Chicago ranked #9 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. River Forest, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Concordia University, Chicago is ranked #5 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Aurora University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. Aurora is located in Aurora, Illinois and has a medium-sized student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Aurora University is ranked #8 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Saint Xavier University landed the #11 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. SXU is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Saint Xavier University has the honor of being ranked #29 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Eastern Illinois University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. EIU is a public institution located in Charleston, Illinois.
Eastern Illinois University has the honor of being ranked #27 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Northwestern University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Northwestern University is ranked #2 for quality in the state of Illinois.
University of St Francis landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Joliet, Illinois.
University of St Francis has the honor of being ranked #16 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #15 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. SIUC is located in Carbondale, Illinois and has a fairly large student population. It is a public school.
Not only is Southern Illinois University Carbondale a great value, but it is also ranked #19 in Illinois for overall quality.
With a ranking of #16, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. SIUE is a public institution located in Edwardsville, Illinois.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is ranked #30 for quality in the state of Illinois.
Learn More About Value at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Lewis University landed the #17 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. Lewis is located in Romeoville, Illinois and has a medium-sized student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is Lewis University a great value, but it is also ranked #20 in Illinois for overall quality.
Northeastern Illinois University landed the #18 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. Northeastern Illinois University is a public institution located 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.
With a ranking of #19, Illinois State University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. It is a public school.
Illinois State University has the honor of being ranked #11 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Dominican University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking, coming in at #20. This small private not-for-profit school is located in River Forest, Illinois.
Not only is Dominican University a great value, but it is also ranked #21 in Illinois for overall quality.
University of Chicago ranked #21 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois.
University of Chicago has the honor of being ranked #1 in Illinois for overall quality on top of being a good value.
Olivet Nazarene University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, the school is a small private not-for-profit institution.
Not only is Olivet Nazarene University a great value, but it is also ranked #17 in Illinois for overall quality.
North Park University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. North Park is located in Chicago, Illinois and has a small student population. It is a private not-for-profit school.
Not only is North Park University a great value, but it is also ranked #26 in Illinois for overall quality.
Bradley University landed the #24 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois ranking. Bradley University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Peoria, Illinois.
Not only is Bradley University a great value, but it is also ranked #9 in Illinois for overall quality.
With a ranking of #25, Benedictine University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Colleges for the Money (With Aid) in Illinois list. Lisle, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. It is a private not-for-profit school.
In addition to being included on this ranking as a good value, Benedictine University is ranked #15 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.