2023 Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best General Education Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 453 degrees and certificates were awarded to general education students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #69 most popular major in the state.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value General Education Master's Degree Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in Illinois to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for education 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Featured schools near , edit
2023 Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois
The following schools top our list of the Best Value General Education Master's Degree Colleges.
Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in General Education
Our analysis found McKendree University to be the best value school for general education students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Located in the suburb of Lebanon, McKendree is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at McKendree are $9,756 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UIUC are $17,823 a year.
UIUC also took the #3 spot in our Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois rankings.
Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Concordia University, Chicago landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378 a year.
Full General Education at Concordia University, Chicago Report
Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the # 4 spot on the list. WIU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at WIU are $12,182 per year.
Read full report on General Education at Western Illinois University
Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at NIU are $11,390 per year.
Full General Education at Northern Illinois University Report
With a ranking of #6, North Park University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. North Park is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
North Park graduate students pay an average of $14,184 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Rockford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for general education students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Rockford is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Rockford.
Rockford graduate students pay an average of $13,615 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Elmhurst University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Elmhurst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Elmhurst.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Elmhurst are $32,800 per year.
With a ranking of #9, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students working on their master’s degree. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northwestern are $56,567 per year.
Northwestern also made our Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #1.
Best Value General Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 700 |
| Ohio | 706 |
| Indiana | 502 |
| Wisconsin | 515 |
More General Education Rankings in Illinois
Majors Related to Education
One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 110,226 |
| Educational Administration | 46,469 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 43,297 |
| Special Education | 36,792 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 19,832 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 9 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 KOKUYO.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
Request Info
|
Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.