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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

In 2020-2021, 588 degrees and certificates were awarded to physical sciences students who went to a Illinois college or university. This makes it the #17 most popular major in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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.

The Best Value Physical Sciences Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. 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.

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. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

Check out the physical sciences master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

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

Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the best value school for physical sciences students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois State are $9,773 per year.

Illinois State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

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Out of the 8 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at WIU are $12,182 per year.

Full Physical Sciences at Western Illinois University Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value physical sciences schools in Illinois. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college 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 Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Full Physical Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

Out of the 8 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the # 4 spot on the list. NIU is a large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at NIU are $11,390 a year.

Full Physical Sciences at Northern Illinois University Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Illinois Institute of Technology is a great value for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Illinois Tech are $30,822 a year.

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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.

Read full report on Physical Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago

#7

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

With a ranking of #7, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for physical sciences students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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

Northwestern also made our Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #1.

Full Physical Sciences at Northwestern University Report

#8

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UChicago are $63,936 a year.

UChicago also made our Best Physical Sciences Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #2.

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 Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 270
Ohio 536
Wisconsin 210
Michigan 415

Physical Sciences Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Chemistry 5,005
Physics 3,727
Geological & Earth Sciences 2,491
Materials Sciences 448
Astronomy & Astrophysics 371
Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology 342
Other Physical Science 191
General Physical Sciences 107
Physics and Astronomy 23

Majors Similar to Physical Sciences

Related Major Annual Graduates
Engineering 61,791
Computer & Information Sciences 60,971
Biological & Biomedical Sciences 28,851
Mathematics & Statistics 15,127
Engineering Technologies 7,672

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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