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Best Value General Biology Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

2023 Best Value General Biology Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

16 Colleges
$21,954 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$38,743 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Biology Master's Degree School for You

General Biology is one of the most popular subjects to study in Illinois. With 2,864 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 10th out of all the majors we track in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value General Biology Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in Illinois to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for biology students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

Top 10 Best General Biology Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the best value school for general biology students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Illinois State graduate students pay an average of $9,773 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Illinois State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Full General Biology at Illinois State University Report

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Out of the 16 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the # 2 spot on the list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at NIU are $11,390 a year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value general biology schools in Illinois. SIUE is a large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.

SIUE graduate students pay an average of $9,316 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full General Biology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

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#4

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Eastern Illinois University is a great value for general biology students working on their master’s degree. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at EIU are $10,640 a year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at Northeastern Illinois University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value general biology schools in Illinois. Northeastern Illinois University is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Chicago.

Northeastern Illinois University graduate students pay an average of $9,428 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Western Illinois University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at WIU are $12,182 a year.

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Chicago State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, CSU is a public school with a small student population.

CSU graduate students pay an average of $9,728 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general biology programs. SIUC is a large public school located in the small city of Carbondale.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at SIUC are $16,162 per year.

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University of Illinois at Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Biology Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UIC are $17,277 a year.

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#10

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

DePaul University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree general biology programs. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at DePaul are $18,341 a year.

Full General Biology at DePaul University Report

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Best Value General Biology Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value General Biology Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 2,795
Ohio 3,097
Indiana 1,765
Wisconsin 1,970

One of 14 majors within the area of study, general biology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Biology

Related Major Annual Graduates
Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology 14,535
Neurobiology & Neurosciences 11,615
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 8,813
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 7,247
Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences 6,206

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 16 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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