2023 Best Value Economics Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Economics Master's Degree School for You
Economics is the #19 most popular major in the country with 49,055 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. 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.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Economics Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 34 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best value experiences for economics 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.
Top 10 Best Economics Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Youngstown State University to be the best value school for economics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a large student population.
Youngstown State University graduate students pay an average of $6,931 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Normal.
Illinois State graduate students pay an average of $11,773 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Illinois State also is in the top 20% of our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Valparaiso University is a great value for economics students working on their master’s degree. Valpo is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Valparaiso.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Valpo are $12,220 a year.
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Out of the 34 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
WIU graduate students pay an average of $12,182 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Northern Illinois University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value economics schools in the Great Lakes Region . NIU is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at NIU are $11,390 a year.
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Marquette University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree economics programs. Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Milwaukee.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marquette are $21,960 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Marquette also did well on our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Madison also is in the top 5% of our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
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Central Michigan University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree economics programs. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.
Central Michigan graduate students pay an average of $15,644 in tuition and fees each year.
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Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree economics programs. BGSU is a large public school located in the town of Bowling Green.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at BGSU are $15,823 a year.
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Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree economics programs. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a very large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Purdue are $28,794 a year.
Purdue also claimed a spot on our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
Request InformationBest Economics Colleges by State
Explore the best economics colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 1,496 |
| Ohio | 1,136 |
| Illinois | 2,155 |
| Indiana | 889 |
| Wisconsin | 1,225 |
More Economics Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Economics Related Majors for Economics
Economics is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Economics
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
| Sociology | 38,475 |
| General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
| International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
| Anthropology | 11,415 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 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 pixabay.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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