2023 Best Value Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Geography & Cartography School for You
In 2020-2021, 191 degrees and certificates were awarded to geography and cartography students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #119 most popular major 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best value experiences for geography 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 Geography & Cartography Schools
Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the best value school for geography and cartography students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.
Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $13,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that geography majors at Illinois State take out is $19,017.
In addition to its great value ranking, Illinois State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois list.
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The excellent programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best geography and cartography schools in Illinois. SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.
SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, geography graduates from SIUE carry an average student debtload of $21,900.
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Out of the 14 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,634 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 Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year.
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Out of the 14 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the # 5 spot on the list. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year. On average, geography graduates from NIU take out $22,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Eastern Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois list. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
EIU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,297 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #7, Chicago State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for geography and cartography students. Located in the large city of Chicago, CSU is a public college with a small student population.
CSU undergraduate students pay an average of $11,204 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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With a ranking of #8, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for geography and cartography students. Northeastern Illinois University is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Chicago.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeastern Illinois University are $12,064 per year.
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Elmhurst University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Elmhurst, Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Elmhurst are $39,400 a year.
Elmhurst excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois list.
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Northwestern University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Northwestern undergraduate students pay an average of $60,768 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
Northwestern not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois list.
Full Geography & Cartography at Northwestern University Report
Request InformationBest Value Geography & Cartography Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Geography & Cartography Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
State | Degrees Awarded |
---|---|
Michigan | 138 |
Ohio | 264 |
Indiana | 82 |
Wisconsin | 276 |
More Geography & Cartography Rankings in Illinois
Majors Related to Geography
One of 12 majors within the area of study, geography and cartography has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
Related Major | Annual Graduates |
---|---|
Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
Economics | 49,055 |
Sociology | 38,475 |
General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 14 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 Couleur.
More about our data sources and methodologies.