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Best Value Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

8 Colleges
$27,471 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$63,256 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Physical Sciences Master's Degree School for You

Physical Sciences is the #20 most popular major in Illinois with 1,686 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in Illinois to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for physical sciences 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.

2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for physical sciences majors pursuing a master's degree.

Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality for a Master's in Physical Sciences

Our 2023 rankings named Illinois State University the best value school in Illinois for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

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

Illinois State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Full Physical Sciences at Illinois State University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

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

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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 Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois rankings.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences 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.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at Northern Illinois University

Out of the 8 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Tech 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 Illinois Tech are $30,822 a year.

Full Physical Sciences at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

With a ranking of #6, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.

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

Full Physical Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

#7

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree physical sciences programs. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Northwestern are $56,567 per year.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois rankings.

Read More…

#8

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physical sciences students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large 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 Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Chicago

Best Value Physical Sciences Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 951
Michigan 1,288
Ohio 1,581
Wisconsin 873

Physical Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 21,239
Physics 13,674
Geological & Earth Sciences 7,821
General Physical Sciences 3,823
Astronomy & Astrophysics 1,375
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 1,140
Materials Sciences 658
Other Physical Science 538
Physics and Astronomy 38

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 8 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 NASA.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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