Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

9 Colleges
$48,796 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,470 Avg Salary

Finding the Best International Relations & National Security School for You

In 2020-2021, 389 degrees and certificates were awarded to international relations and national security students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #79 most popular major in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best value experiences for international relations students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value International Relations & National Security Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Value International Relations & National Security Colleges.

Best Illinois Schools for Affordable Quality in International Relations & Security

#1

Dominican University

River Forest, IL
$35,420 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Dominican University the best value school in Illinois for international relations and national security students. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Dominican U are $35,420 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Dominican U is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois list.

Read full report on International Relations & National Security at Dominican University

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
$60,768 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

Northwestern undergraduate students pay an average of $60,768 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, international relations graduates from Northwestern carry an average student debtload of $15,450.

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 international relations in Illinois.

Read More…

$40,820 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Wheaton College Illinois is a great value for international relations and national security students. Located in the suburb of Wheaton, Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Wheaton College Illinois undergraduate students pay an average of $40,820 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, international relations graduates from Wheaton College Illinois take out $26,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Wheaton College Illinois also did well on our Best International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

#4

DePaul University

Chicago, IL
$42,012 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means DePaul University is a great value for international relations and national security students. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DePaul are $42,012 per year. International Relations majors at DePaul take out an average of $24,701 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $481, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on International Relations & National Security at DePaul University

#5

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, IL
$51,002 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 9 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Forest College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Lake Forest is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Lake Forest.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lake Forest are $51,002 per year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Lake Forest also did well on our Best International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full International Relations & National Security at Lake Forest College Report

#6

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL
$31,493 Average Tuition & Fees

Roosevelt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for international relations and national security students. It came in at #6 on the list. Roosevelt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Roosevelt are $31,493 per year.

Read More…

#7

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL
$60,963 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Chicago came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UChicago are $60,963 per year.

UChicago not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois list.

Read full report on International Relations & National Security at University of Chicago

$47,808 Average Tuition & Fees

Loyola University Chicago came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois ranking. Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Loyola Chicago are $47,808 per year. International Relations majors at Loyola Chicago take out an average of $20,983 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $640.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Loyola Chicago also did well on our Best International Relations & Security Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on International Relations & National Security at Loyola University Chicago

#9

Knox College

Galesburg, IL
$51,576 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Knox College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for international relations and national security students. Knox is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Galesburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Knox are $51,576 a year.

Full International Relations & National Security at Knox College Report

Best Value International Relations & National Security Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value International Relations & National Security Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 213
Ohio 446
Indiana 201
Wisconsin 76

One of 12 majors within the area of study, international relations and national security has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Economics 49,055
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
Anthropology 11,415

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 RepubFan12.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.