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Best Value Physics Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Physics Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$30,000 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$89,430 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physics Master's Degree School for You

Physics is the #66 most popular major in Illinois with 483 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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.

The Best Value Physics Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in Illinois to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for physics students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Physics Master's Degree Colleges.

Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Physics

Our analysis found Western Illinois University to be the best value school for physics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. 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.

Full Physics at Western Illinois University Report

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 Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

UIUC graduate students pay an average of $17,823 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UIUC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Full Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

NIU graduate students pay an average of $11,390 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Physics at Northern Illinois University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. UIC is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Chicago.

UIC graduate students pay an average of $17,277 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Physics at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at Illinois Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value physics schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois Tech are $30,822 per year.

Full Physics at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Northwestern graduate students pay an average of $56,567 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Northwestern is ranked #1 for overall quality for physics in Illinois.

Read More…

#7

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UChicago are $63,936 per year.

UChicago did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Read full report on Physics at University of Chicago

Best Value Physics Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Physics Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 344
Ohio 393
Indiana 255
Wisconsin 264

One of 8 majors within the area of study, physics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 21,239
Geological & Earth Sciences 7,821
General Physical Sciences 3,823
Astronomy & Astrophysics 1,375
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 1,140

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 7 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 A. T. Service.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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