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Best Value Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Value Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

15 Colleges
$34,900 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$46,572 Avg Salary

Architecture & Related Services is the #29 most popular major in the country with 17,325 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for architecture and related services students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

$21,475 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for architecture and related services students. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public college with a fairly large student population.

UWM undergraduate students pay an average of $21,475 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, architecture and related services graduates from UWM carry an average student debtload of $25,750.

Full Architecture & Related Services at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Report

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$21,050 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. BGSU is a large public school located in the town of Bowling Green.

BGSU undergraduate students pay an average of $21,050 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, architecture and related services graduates from BGSU carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

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#3

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Notre Dame is a great value for architecture and related services students. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Notre Dame are $58,843 per year. After completing their degree, architecture and related services graduates from Notre Dame carry an average student debtload of $24,500.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Notre Dame is ranked #1 for overall quality for architecture and related services in the Great Lakes Region .

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$15,240 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

SIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $15,240 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, architecture and related services graduates from SIUC carry an average student debtload of $25,072.

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#5

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Ball State University is a great value for architecture and related services students. Located in the small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ball State are $27,524 per year. After completing their degree, architecture and related services graduates from Ball State carry an average student debtload of $27,401.

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$27,111 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value architecture and related services programs. UC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Cincinnati.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC are $27,111 per year. Architecture & Related Services majors at UC take out an average of $24,750 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $300, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIUC are $37,632 per year. The average amount in student loans that architecture and related services majors at UIUC take out is $20,864. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $297.

In addition to its great value ranking, UIUC is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Architecture & Related Services at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

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$50,375 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s best value schools for architecture and related services students. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Illinois Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $50,375 in tuition and fees each year. On average, architecture and related services graduates from Illinois Tech take out $31,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$19,876 Average Tuition & Fees

Kent State University at Kent came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Kent State is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Kent.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Kent State are $19,876 a year. The average amount in student loans that architecture and related services majors at Kent State take out is $25,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $297.

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$30,370 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Architecture/Urban Planning Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UIC are $30,370 a year. Architecture & Related Services majors at UIC take out an average of $24,250 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Explore the best architecture and related services colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 258
Michigan 423
Ohio 663
Illinois 522
Wisconsin 183

Major Annual Graduates
Architectural Sciences & Technology 6,781
General Architecture 4,982
Urban & Regional Planning 2,419
Landscape Architecture 905
Environmental Design 741
Interior Architecture 728
Real Estate Development 420
Architecture (Other) 202
Architectural History 147

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer & Information Sciences 254,454
Engineering 198,468
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 177,778
Engineering Technologies 85,188
Mathematics & Statistics 52,396

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 15 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Lorenzo Cafaro.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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